Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “impious” come from?

Impious comes from Latin impius, formed from the prefix Latin in- and Latin pius, ultimately deriving from Proto-Indo-European ne meaning not.

impious (English): Not pious; Lacking reverence or respect,...

Definitions

  1. Not pious; Lacking reverence or respect,...

Ancestry of “impious”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinimpiusdisloyal, undutiful; godless, impious,...
2Latinpīus—
3Latin-tās—
4Proto-Indo-European-teh₂tsUsed to form nouns representing state of being
5Proto-Indo-European-teh₂Used to form nouns representing state of being
6Proto-Indo-European-tósCreates verbal adjectives from verb stems

Words derived from “impious”

  • impiously
  • impiousness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tós →