iniquity

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English iniquite,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French iniquité (“wickedness”),^{[5][3][6][7][8]} from Latin inīquitās (“unevenness, unfairness, injustice”),^{[5][2][6][7][8]} a noun of quality from inīquus (“uneven, unequal, unjust, wicked”).^[5][2][6][8] The adjective is formed from in- (“not”) and aequus (“level, equal, just”),^[5][2][6][8] which is of unknown origin.^[6][9] The diphthong of the simple adjective changes to a long vowel in the compound.^[8][6] The Old French noun is recorded from the 12th century, in the Oxford Psalter,^[5] and the Anglo-Norman Dictionary dates it to the first half of that century.^[10] Etymologically, Ayto notes, iniquity is the equivalent of inequality.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Barnhart finds the form inequite in Arthour and Merlin, probably before 1300,^[11] and Etymonline gives "hostility, malevolence; a hostile action" for about 1300.^[6] The OED's first record, unrighteous action or wickedness, sometimes wrongful or injurious action, is from before 1400, in Kyng Alisaunder.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The Latin word moved from physical unevenness to unfairness and injustice,^[6] and in English "evil, wickedness" dates from the late 14th century.^[6] The Middle English Dictionary records it for wickedness, for a wicked act, and in king of iniquity for the Devil,^[3] and Chaucer, who has the word six times,^[12] speaks of the cross that washed the world from "the olde iniquitee".^[3] The narrower sense of injustice or unfairness is recorded from 1587 to 1748, and the OED notes that after that it survives only as implied in the sense of wickedness.^[5] Johnson (1755) still listed "injustice" before "wickedness; crime".^[13] A Latinism meaning unfavourable or adverse influence lasted from about 1550 to 1620.^[5][14] In the old morality plays, Iniquity was the name of a comic character representing vice, also called the Vice, first recorded in Shakespeare's Richard III (1597);^[5] Etymonline dates Old Iniquity to the 1610s.^[6] By 1899 the name could also mean the Devil.^[5] In Scots law it refers to a decision contrary to law.^[4][5]

Timeline

• c. 1300 – hostility, malevolence; a hostile act.^[6] Barnhart finds inequite probably before 1300.^[11]
• before 1400 – unrighteous conduct, wickedness, sin.^[5][3]
• 1477 – plural, unrighteous acts, sins.^[5]
• c. 1550 – unfavourable or adverse influence (obsolete by 1620).^[5]
• 1587 – injustice, unfairness (obsolete by 1748, except as implied in wickedness).^[5]
• 1597 – Iniquity, a comic character in the morality plays.^[5]
• 1757 – in Scots law, a decision contrary to law.^[5][4]
• 1899 – as a name for the Devil.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. Gross immorality or injustice; wickedness: The preacher thundered against the iniquity of the age.^{[2][15][4][5]}
2. A grossly wicked act; a sin: the iniquities of the landlords.^{[2][15][4][5]}
3. (Scots law) A decision that is contrary to law.^[4][5]
4. In the old morality plays, Iniquity, a comic character representing vice.^[5][14][6]
5. (obsolete, 1587–1748) Lack of equity; unfairness.^[5][14][13]
6. (obsolete, c. 1550–1620) Unfavourable or adverse influence.^[5][14]

Word family

• iniquitous

Related words

• equal
• equity
• inequity
• adequate
• equate
• equanimity
• equator

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
3. ^ a b c d e 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)
4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d e Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
10. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
11. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
12. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
13. ^ 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.
14. ^ 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
15. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins