Where does “nefarious” come from?
Nefarious derives from Latin nefarius, formed from nefas meaning violation of divine law, itself from Latin ne and Proto-Indo-European ne combined with bʰeh₂-.
nefarious (English): Sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked,...
Definitions
- Sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked,...
Ancestry of “nefarious”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | nefārius | nefarious, execrable, abominable, loathsome |
| 2 | Latin | nefās | wrong; (moral) offense; wicked act; misdeed or misdoing |
| 3 | Latin | nē | no; not |
| 4 | Latin | gēns | Roman clan (related by birth or marriage and sharing a common name and often united by certain religious rites) |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | *gentis | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵénh₁tis | birth, production |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵenh₁- | to produce, to beget, to give birth |