Etymologically
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English

egregious

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɪˈɡɹiː.d͡ʒəs/, /əˈɡɹiː.d͡ʒi.əs/[1]

Etymology

First recorded c. 1534,[2][3] borrowed from Latin ēgregius (“distinguished, excellent, extraordinary”),[4][5] from the phrase ex grege “rising above the flock”,[4] from ē- “out of” + grex “herd, flock”,[5][2] from Proto-Indo-European *ger- (“to gather”).[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

“Distinguished, eminent, excellent”, of persons and their qualities,[3][4] and of things, “remarkably good or great”.[3]

Semantic evolution

The disapproving sense arose in the late 16th century, probably through ironic use,[4][1] and is now the predominant one.[4] This sense does not belong to Latin ēgregius or Italian egregio;[3] the Italian and Spanish cognates, both egregio, have kept a strictly positive sense.[1] The word typically comes before abusive epithets such as ass, rascal and rogue.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 1534 – of persons, “distinguished, eminent”.[2][3]
  • 1547–64 – of things, “remarkably good or great”.[3]
  • 1573 – first use in a bad sense, of persons: “gross, flagrant”.[3]
  • 1630 – the bad sense applied to things and actions.[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Conspicuously or outrageously bad; flagrant, as in an egregious error.[5][2][6][1]
  2. (archaic) Distinguished, eminent.[2][6]

Word family

  • egregiously
  • egregiousness

Related words

  • gregarious, from the same Latin grex
  • Synonyms: gross, outrageous, notorious

References

  1. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. [1] [2] [3] [4] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. [1] [2] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House

Last edited on 5 October 2026.