accusatory

Etymology

It is partly borrowed from Anglo-Norman accusatorie (“of the nature of an accusation”), recorded from the late 13th century,^[2][3] and partly borrowed from Latin accūsātōrius (“of a prosecutor, denunciatory”), the Latin source of the Anglo-Norman word;^[2][4] Middle French had accusatoire by 1355.^[2] Etymonline, Dictionary.com, the Shorter Oxford and Merriam-Webster derive it from the Latin alone.^[5][6][7][4] The Latin adjective is from accūsātor (“prosecutor, accuser”), from accūsō (“to call to account, accuse”),^[4] with the suffix -ōrius.^[2][4] Etymonline traces accuse to a Latin phrase formed from ad (“with regard to”) and causa (“a cause, lawsuit”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of the nature of or containing an accusation: before 1400, in Clensyng Mannes Sowle.^[2] Merriam-Webster also dates it to the 14th century,^[4][8] while the 1989 edition of the OED had 1601, Etymonline c. 1600 and Dictionary.com 1595–1605.^[9][5][6]

Semantic evolution

The Latin adjective belonged to prosecution in court,^[4][2] and the English word kept a legal use: Johnson (1755) defined it as producing or containing an accusation, quoting Ayliffe on the "accusatory libel" in a charge of adultery.^[10] From 1770 it was also used in law in the sense of accusatorial.^[2][4] Today it is mostly used of looks, tones and remarks that accuse someone.^[4]

Timeline

• before 1400 – containing or expressing an accusation.^[2]
• 1770 – (law) accusatorial.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Containing, expressing or suggesting an accusation: He gave his brother an accusatory stare.^[4][2][11]
2. (law) Accusatorial.^[4][2]

Related words

• accuse
• accusation
• accusatorial
• accusative
• cause

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ Garner, Bryan A., ed. (2004), Black's Law Dictionary, 8th ed., St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson West