Where does “horrible” come from?
horrible (Middle English) comes from Old French horrible, from Latin horribilis, from Latin -bilis, from Proto-Italic -ðlis, from Proto-Indo-European -dʰlis, from Proto-Indo-European -dʰlom — Alternative form of *-trom; instrumental suffix;...
horrible (Middle English): horrible
Definitions
- horrible
Ancestry of “horrible”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | horrible | — |
| 2 | Latin | horribilis | horrible, terrible, dreadful, fearful |
| 3 | Latin | -bilis | -ble |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | -ðlis | Forms adjectives from verb stems indicating capacity or worth of being acted on |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -dʰlis | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -dʰlom | Alternative form of *-trom; instrumental suffix;... |