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loathing

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Etymology and origin of the English word loathing

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1340 Richard Rolle, prose treatises More words from the 14th century
Ultimate origin
Proto-Germanic *laiþaz
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English loathe
English loathing

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈləʊðɪŋ/[1]
  • US: /ˈloʊðɪŋ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English lothing, also lathynge,[2][3] formed from English loathe + -ing, as the verbal noun of the verb.[4][5][2] The verb is from Old English lāðian (“to be hateful or displeasing”),[5][4][2] from lāð (“hated, hateful”), the source of loath,[5][2] from Proto-Germanic *laiþaz.[6][5] Old English had laðwendnes, from a word for "hateful".[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Intense dislike, or a strong distaste for food: about 1340, in Richard Rolle's prose treatises.[4] Etymonline dates the noun to the late 14th century,[5] Merriam-Webster to the 14th century[2] and Dictionary.com to 1300–50.[3]

Semantic evolution

The noun followed the main modern sense of loathe, "to hate, be disgusted with", recorded from about 1200.[5] As an adjective the participle first meant "causing disgust" (from before 1513 to 1683, first in Dunbar's Flyting), and then "feeling disgust", from about 1595.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1340 – noun, intense dislike; strong distaste for food.[4]
  • before 1513 – adjective, causing disgust (obsolete by 1683).[4]
  • c. 1595 – adjective, feeling disgust.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Intense dislike mixed with disgust; abhorrence: He spoke of his old school with loathing.[7][2][4]
  2. A strong distaste for food.[4]

Adjective

  1. Feeling disgust.[4]

Word family

  • loathingly
  • self-loathing

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

  • crystal · also from Old English
  • butter · also from Old English
  • crack · also from Old English
  • narrow · also from Old English
  • bench · also from Old English
  • nowhere · also from Old English
  • forth · also from Old English
  • bid · also from Old English
Cite this entry

“Loathing.” Etymologically, 5 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/loathing. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·