Etymologically
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intimidate

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Pronunciation

  • /ɪnˈtɪmɪdeɪt/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin intimidō (“to frighten, make afraid”), through its past participle stem,[2][3][4][5][6][7] formed from Latin in- and timidus (“fearful”), the source of timid,[2][5][8][7] which comes from timeō (“to fear”), a word of uncertain origin.[5] The OED compares French intimider, recorded in the 16th century.[2][5] Dictionaries differ over the prefix: most take it as the prefix meaning "in",[5][7][6] the American Heritage Dictionary as a causative prefix,[8] and Skeat as an intensive one.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

To make timid, to fill with fear: 1646, in H. Lawrence's Of Communion and Warre with Angels.[2][4][6] Etymonline gives the 1640s.[5]

Semantic evolution

The first sense was simply to frighten or overawe; in modern use the verb came to mean especially to force someone to do, or not to do, something by threats or violence.[2][3] Johnson (1755) defined it as to make fearful or cowardly, quoting his own play Irene.[10] The noun intimidation followed in 1658, in Phillips's dictionary, probably on the model of French.[6][2] In law, intimidation came to mean the wrongful use or threat of violence to make someone act, or not act, against their legal right.[5]

Timeline

  • 1646 – to make timid, inspire with fear.[2][4]
  • 1658 – the noun intimidation.[2][6]
  • 1755 – in Johnson's Dictionary: to make fearful, to dastardize.[10]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To make someone timid or afraid; to frighten or overawe: The size of the crowd intimidated the young singer.[11][4][2]
  2. To force someone into, or keep them from, an action by threats or violence: The gang tried to intimidate witnesses into silence.[11][2][3]

Word family

  • intimidatory
  • timid
  • timidity
  • timorous

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  7. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  9. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins