Where does “torturous” come from?
Torturous comes from Middle English -ous, from Old French -eux, from Latin -osus, ultimately from Latin torquere meaning to twist or turn.
torturous (English): Of or pertaining to torture; Painful,...
Definitions
- Of or pertaining to torture; Painful,...
Ancestry of “torturous”, step by step
torturous traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old French tortureus
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | tortureus | — |
| 2 | Latin | tortūra | a twisting, wreathing |
| 3 | Latin | tortus | twisted, crooked; spun, whirled; bent, distorted |
| 4 | Latin | -tus | Forms the past participle of verbs; Forms... |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | -tus | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -tus | Derives action nouns from verb roots |
via Middle English torterous
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | torterous | torturous |