Where does “murderous” come from?
Murderous comes from Middle English -ous, from Old French -eux, from Latin -osus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European mer-, meaning to die or be mortal, combined with Proto-Germanic murþrą.
murderous (English): Of, characterized by, or pertaining to murder or...
Definitions
- Of, characterized by, or pertaining to murder or...
Ancestry of “murderous”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | murder | The crime of deliberately killing another person... |
| 2 | Middle English | murder | — |
| 3 | Middle English | murthre | murder |
| 4 | Old English | morþor | murder; great sin or crime, enormity |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | murþrą | murder |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | mrtro- | murder, death; killing |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | mer- | to die; to disappear; sea, lake, wetland |