Etymologically
Log in

audacity

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 1 November 2026 at 00:48. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /ɔːˈdæ.sɪ.ti/, /ɔˈdæ.sɪ.ti/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English audacite,[2][3] borrowed from Medieval Latin audacitas (“boldness”),[4][5][6][7] from Latin audāx (“bold, daring”), from audeō (“to be bold, to dare”).[5][8] The OED and Merriam-Webster instead treat it as formed in English from the stem of the Latin adjective and the suffix -ity.[9][2][3] The OED compares audacita, recorded by Florio in 1611.[9] Audacious, from the same Latin adjective, followed in 1550.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Boldness, daring, confidence: in a translation of Higden's Polychronicon of 1432–50.[9][5] Etymonline dates it to the early 15th century, also with the sense of vigour or animation.[4]

Semantic evolution

The word first named courage in a good sense.[9][4] From 1531, in Elyot's Governour, it was also used of boldness that ignores the consequences, rashness.[9] From 1545 it also meant open disregard of decency or morality, impudence, which Etymonline dates to the 1530s.[9][4][7] Johnson (1755) still defined it neutrally as spirit, boldness and confidence.[10] In 1859 it was first applied to daring originality, a bold departure from conventional form.[9]

Timeline

  • 1432 – boldness, daring, confidence.[9][5]
  • 1531 – rashness, recklessness.[9]
  • 1545 – impudence, shamelessness.[9][7]
  • 1658 – a bold creature, in Sir Thomas Browne.[9]
  • 1859 – daring originality.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Bold, daring courage, especially when it takes risks: the audacity of the climbers' plan.[11][2][9]
  2. Rude or disrespectful boldness; impudence or nerve: He had the audacity to ask for a raise after missing a week of work.[2][9][7]
  3. Daring originality, a bold departure from convention.[9][2]
  4. An audacious act or remark.[2]
  • audacious

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  6. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University 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. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins