formidable

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English formidable,^[2][3] borrowed from Middle French formidable,^[4][5][6][7] a learned borrowing from Latin formīdābilis (“causing fear, terrible”),^[4][6][8] from formīdāre (“to fear, dread”), derived from the noun formīdō, fear, terror, dread.^[6][4][3][9] The French word is recorded from the 15th century.^[5][6] Partridge took the noun to have been first a hunting term for a scarecrow.^[10] Barnhart, Klein and Merriam-Webster connect it with Ancient Greek μορμώ (mormṓ, “bugbear, goblin, she-monster”),^[4][8][11] which Barnhart traces to Proto-Indo-European *mormo-;^[4] Klein explains the f as a dissimilation of the two ms.^[8] Ayto calls the link with the Greek word only possible.^[12]

Earliest recorded meaning

Causing fear, terrifying: about 1450, in an English version of De Claris Mulieribus, where Cyrus is said to have been formydable to every nation.^[2][4] The OED's first quotation is from 1508, in John Fisher's treatise on the penitential psalms.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The word came into English in its literal sense, "inspiring fear".^[12][6] Ayto dates the weaker sense, "impressive in size or difficulty", to the 17th century,^[12] and the OED notes that the word is now usually used with the original sense of fear somewhat obscured, for what is likely to be hard to overcome or deal with; from 1665 it was construed with to.^[5][13] Etymonline likewise describes the meaning as having softened towards "so great as to discourage effort".^[6] From 1697, in Dryden, it was also used playfully or sarcastically.^[5] Johnson (1755) still defined it only as "terrible; dreadful; tremendous; to be feared".^[14] Barnhart glosses it as inspiring dread or wonder, and Collins records the sense of inspiring awe or admiration through size, strength or excellence.^[4][15]

Timeline

• c. 1450 – formydable, causing fear, terrifying.^[2][4]
• 1508 – that gives cause for fear or alarm, in John Fisher.^[5][13]
• 1665 – difficult or daunting (to someone), in Boyle.^[5][13]
• 1697 – used playfully or sarcastically, in Dryden.^[5]
• 1755 – Johnson defines it as "terrible; dreadful; to be feared".^[14]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Causing fear, dread or apprehension: a formidable enemy.^[15][11][5]
2. Hard to defeat, overcome or deal with: The climbers faced a formidable ascent.^[15][11][7]
3. Inspiring awe or respect through size, strength or excellence: She has a formidable knowledge of chess openings.^[15][4]

Word family

• formidability
• formidably
• formidableness
• superformidable
• unformidable

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Partridge, Eric (1966), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 4th ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
11. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
12. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
13. ^ a b c Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
14. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
15. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins