Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “obnoxious” come from?

Obnoxious comes from Latin obnoxiosus, formed with the suffix -osus from noxia, derived from nocere meaning "to harm," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European neḱ-.

obnoxious (English): Extremely unpleasant or offensive; very annoying,...

Definitions

  1. Extremely unpleasant or offensive; very annoying,...

Ancestry of “obnoxious”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinobnoxiōsus—
2Latinobnoxiuspunishable, liable, guilty; submissive, obedient,...
3Latinob-towards; against
4Latinobolusobolus
5Ancient Greekὀβολόςobol, obolus, used at Athens as both a weight and...
6Ancient Greekὀβελόςa spit, rod; a horizontal line
7Ancient Greekβέλοςmissile, arrow, dart; weapon; something quickly...
8Proto-Indo-EuropeangʷélHos—
9Proto-Indo-EuropeangʷelH-to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing

Words derived from “obnoxious”

  • obnoxiously
  • obnoxiousness
  • unobnoxious
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷelH- →