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pessimistic

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Etymology and origin of the English word pessimistic

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1854 Morning Chronicle
Ultimate origin
Latin pessimus

Pronunciation

  • /ˌpɛ.səˈmɪs.tɪk/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English pessimist + -ic,[2][3][4] after optimistic.[2] The OED compares German pessimistisch (1860).[2] The noun pessimist (1820) is formed from Latin pessimus (“worst”) and -ist, after optimist,[2][3] and the OED compares French pessimiste (1789 as a noun, 1819 as an adjective).[2] Etymonline suggests that pessimus meant originally "bottom-most" and comes from Proto-Indo-European *ped- (“foot”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to or marked by pessimism; inclined to take a gloomy view of things: 1854, in the Morning Chronicle.[2] The earlier OED dated it to 1868,[5] as Merriam-Webster's Collegiate does;[6] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates it to 1865,[7] Etymonline to 1866[3] and Dictionary.com to 1865–70.[4]

Semantic evolution

The adjective took the place of the earlier adjectival use of pessimist.[2] It followed the senses of pessimism, which in English meant first, from 1794, the worst possible condition, then from 1815 a tendency to see only the dark side of life, and by 1835 the philosophical doctrine of Schopenhauer and others that this is the worst possible world.[3] The everyday sense, expecting the worst, has become the usual one.[7] Merriam-Webster glosses it with "gloomy" and "despairing".[7][6] In computing, Wiktionary records it for a method of locking data to prevent conflicting changes.[1]

Timeline

  • 1854 – relating to pessimism; expecting the worst.[2] Etymonline dates it to 1866, Merriam-Webster to 1865.[3][7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Expecting the worst; inclined to see the bad side of things and to doubt that they will turn out well: She was pessimistic about the team's chances.[7][2][1]
  2. Relating to or characterized by pessimism as a philosophical doctrine.[7][2][3]

Word family

  • pessimistically
  • overpessimistic
  • unpessimistic

References

  1. ^ a b c 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 d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
Cite this entry

“Pessimistic.” Etymologically, 1 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/pessimistic. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·