cruel
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈkɹuːəl/, /kɹuːl/[1]
Etymology
It is borrowed from Old French cruel, earlier crudel,[2][3][4] from Latin crūdēlis (“rude, unfeeling, hard-hearted”),[2][3] related to crūdus, rough, raw, bloody (see crude, raw).[2][3][5] The loss of the Latin medial d began in French in the 10th century.[2]
Earliest recorded meaning
Severe, strict: probably before 1200, in the Ancrene Riwle,[3] about 1200 in Etymonline;[2] this sense is obsolete.[6]
Semantic evolution
Of suffering or death, attended by much distress, it is from the early 13th century.[2] Pitiless, disposed to inflict suffering, is from about 1300 (1297 in the OED).[3][2][6] Of men or wild beasts, fierce or savage, it is from before 1300.[6] In Australia it is also a verb, to spoil or ruin.[7] In dialect from Ireland to Cornwall it was also an intensive meaning dreadful, terrible, or great.[8]
Timeline
Modern meaning
Adjective
- Willing to cause pain or suffering, without pity.
- Causing pain or suffering: a cruel accident.
Verb
- (Australian) To spoil or ruin something.
Word family
- cruelly
- cruelness
- uncruel
Related words
- crude
- cruelty
- raw
- crudity
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
- ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)