Where does “unscrupulous” come from?
Unscrupulous derives from Latin scrupulosus, meaning "troubled by scruples," from scrupus, a sharp stone or source of anxiety, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European (s)ker- meaning to cut or separate.
unscrupulous (English): Without scruples; immoral; Contemptuous of what...
Definitions
- Without scruples; immoral; Contemptuous of what...
Ancestry of “unscrupulous”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | scrupulous | Exactly and carefully conducted; Having scruples... |
| 2 | Middle French | scrupuleux | — |
| 3 | Latin | scrūpulōsus | full of sharp stones |
| 4 | Latin | scrūpulus | a small, sharp or pointed stone |
| 5 | Latin | -ulus | Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -olos | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |