Etymologically
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passion

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈpæʃ.ən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English passiun, passioun, borrowed from Old French passion and directly from Late Latin passiō (“suffering, enduring”),[2][3][4] from passus, the past participle of Latin patī “to suffer, endure”, a word of uncertain origin.[2][3] It replaced Old English þolung “suffering”, from þolian “to endure”.[2] It is related to patient, passive and compassion.[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The sufferings of Christ on the Cross: about 1175 in the OED, about 1200 in Etymonline.[6][2] This was the earliest meaning of the Latin, Old French and Middle English words.[3][7]

Semantic evolution

By the early 13th century it was extended to the sufferings of martyrs and to suffering in general.[2][6] In Middle English it also meant a disease or affliction, and the state of being acted upon.[2][7] Strong emotion or desire is from before 1250 in Barnhart, the late 14th century in Etymonline,[3][2] from a Late Latin use of passiō to render Greek páthos “suffering, feeling”.[2] An outburst of anger is from the 16th century.[7] Strong sexual love is first recorded in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus in 1588,[3][2] a strong liking or enthusiasm from 1638,[3][2] and an object of desire by 1732.[2] The verb, to fill with passion, is from about 1468.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 1175 – the Passion of Christ.[6]
  • a. 1225 – suffering.[6]
  • a. 1250 – strong emotion.[3]
  • 1588 – sexual love.[3]
  • 1638 – enthusiasm.[3]
  • 1732 – an object of desire.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A very strong feeling, such as love, anger or hate.
  2. Strong sexual love.
  3. Great enthusiasm for something, or the thing loved: music is her passion.
  4. An outburst of strong emotion, especially anger.
  5. (Passion) The suffering and death of Jesus, or a musical setting of the Gospel account of it.

Word family

  • passionless
  • passionful
  • passionfully
  • passionfulness
  • passionlike
  • dispassion
  • impassionate
  • passional
  • impassion
  • impassive
  • passionate
  • passive
  • passivity
  • patience
  • patient
  • compassion

Usage notes

Passion, fervor, fire, zeal and ardor all denote intense emotion; passion is a deep, overwhelming feeling.[8]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin