Where does “impetuous” come from?
Impetuous comes from Middle English impetuous, from Old French impetueux, from Latin impetuosus, derived from impetus meaning "attack" or "onset," itself from impeto meaning "to rush at," from peto meaning "to seek" or "to rush," with the prefix in-.
impetuous (English): Making arbitrary decisions, especially in an...
Definitions
- Making arbitrary decisions, especially in an...
Ancestry of “impetuous”, step by step
impetuous traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English impetuous
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | impetuous | — |
| 2 | Old French | impetueux | forceful; violent; strong |
| 3 | Late Latin | impetuosus | violent |
| 4 | Latin | impetus | an attack, assault; a rapid motion; a making for |
| 5 | Latin | impetō | to rush upon, assail, attack |
| 6 | Latin | īn- | un-, non-, not |
| 7 | Latin | în | in, at, on, upon, from (space) |
| 8 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |
via Middle French impétuosité
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | impétuosité | — |