Where does “onerous” come from?

Onerous comes from Middle English onerous, from Middle French onereux, from Old French onereus, from Latin onerosus, derived from Latin onus meaning burden, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₃énh₂os.

onerous (English): imposing or constituting a physical, mental, or...

Definitions

  1. imposing or constituting a physical, mental, or...

Ancestry of “onerous”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishonerousonerous
2Middle Frenchonereux—
3Old Frenchonereus—
4Latinonerosusburdensome, heavy, oppressive; onerous, irksome
5Latinonusburden, load; cargo, freight
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃énh₂osload; burden
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃enh₂-to onerate; to charge

Words derived from “onerous”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃enh₂- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃énh₂os →Every word from Latin onus →