Etymologically
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hector

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈhɛktə/ (UK); /ˈhɛktɚ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It comes from Hector, the Trojan hero of the Iliad,[2][3][4][5][6] from Latin Hector, from Ancient Greek Ἕκτωρ (Héktōr),[2][5][7] literally “holder, stay”, an agent noun from ἔχειν (ékhein, “to have, hold”),[4][6][7][8] from Proto-Indo-European *segh- (“to hold”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a noun, a swaggering fellow, a braggart or bully (1655 in the OED and Barnhart);[9][3] the name was used earlier for a valiant warrior like Hector (1387).[9][4]

Semantic evolution

In Homer, Hector is the bravest of the Trojans and the ideal warrior;[10] it is not entirely certain how his name came to mean a braggart and a bully.[10] Etymonline links it to his urging the Trojans to keep up the fight,[4] and Weekley to the bullying Hector of popular drama.[11] In the mid-17th century the name was given to gangs of disorderly young men in the streets of London.[3] The verb, to play the bully, is from 1660, and to intimidate by bluster from 1664.[9][3][5] Johnson defines a hector as “a blustering, turbulent, pervicacious, noisy fellow”.[4]

Timeline

  • 1387 – a valiant warrior like Hector.[9]
  • 1655 – a braggart, bully.[9][3]
  • 1660 – verb, to bluster, play the bully.[9][3][5]
  • 1664 – verb, to intimidate by bluster.[9][3]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To intimidate, harass or dominate in a blustering way; to bully.
  2. To behave like a bully; to swagger.

Noun

  1. A blustering bully or braggart.

Word family

  • hectoringly
  • unhectored

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  10. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Book of Word Histories, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  11. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray