Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “rebellious” come from?

Rebellious comes from Middle English rebellious, formed from the suffix -ous (from Old French -eux, from Latin -osus) added to a stem derived from Latin bellum meaning war.

rebellious (English): Showing rebellion

Definitions

  1. Showing rebellion

Ancestry of “rebellious”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishrebelliousRefusing to submit to authorities; rebellious
2Middle EnglishrebellenTo rebel; to start a revolt or uprising against...
3Old Frenchrebellerto rebel
4Latinrebellō—
5Latinrĕ-—
6Latinprōdūcō—
7Latinprō-—
8Proto-Italic*pro-—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
10Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
11Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
12Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “rebellious”

  • rebelliousness
  • rebelliously
  • unrebellious
  • nonrebellious
  • unrebelliously
  • unrebelliousness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →