Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “hostility” come from?

Hostility comes from Middle English hostilitie, from Old French hostilité, from Latin hostilitas, derived from Latin hostis meaning enemy, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʰóstis.

hostility (English): The state of being hostile; A hostile action,...

Definitions

  1. The state of being hostile; A hostile action,...

Ancestry of “hostility”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishhostilitie—
2Old Frenchhostilité—
3Latinhostilitashostility, enmity
4Latinhostīlis—
5Latin-ilis-ile
6Proto-Italic-elis—
7Proto-Indo-European-elis—
8Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

Words derived from “hostility”

  • nonhostility
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós →