Etymologically
Log in

rebellious

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 22:55. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /ɹəˈbɛliəs/, /ɹəˈbɛljəs/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English rebellious, also rebellous,[2] formed from English rebellion + -ous according to the Shorter Oxford.[3] The OED takes it as Latin rebellis (“rebellious”) or rebelliō (“rebellion”) with the English suffix, and notes that Medieval Latin rebelliōsus is recorded only from 1596 and Middle French rebelleux from 1486;[4] Merriam-Webster, Klein and Dictionary.com derive it from rebelliōsus,[5][6][7] and Etymonline from rebellis.[8] The MED compares Old French rebelleux (“stubborn, savage”).[2] The Latin adjective is from rebellō (“to rebel, revolt”), formed from re- (“against; again”) and bellō (“to make war”), from bellum (“war”).[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Defying lawful or established authority; insubordinate: about 1450, in the Life of Saint Cuthbert, "To ilk man he was rebellouse".[4][2] Etymonline dates it to the early 15th century.[8]

Semantic evolution

From people in revolt the word spread to actions and times marked by rebellion (1491),[4][3] and in the 16th century to things that resist treatment or control: a disease resistant to treatment from 1565, now rare, and an unmanageable material thing from 1587.[4][8] Shakespeare used it once, in As You Like It, of liquors harmful to the health.[4] Johnson (1755) defined it simply as opposed to lawful authority, quoting Deuteronomy.[10] Another Middle English word for it was rebellant,[8] which the OED records slightly later.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1450 – defying lawful authority, insubordinate; also as a noun.[4][2]
  • 1491 – of actions or times, characteristic of rebels.[4]
  • 1550 – in extended use.[4]
  • 1565 – of a disease, resistant to treatment.[4] Etymonline dates the sense "hard to deal with", of things, to the 1570s.[8]
  • 1587 – of a material thing, unmanageable, refractory.[4]
  • before 1616 – of liquor, harmful to health, in Shakespeare's As You Like It.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Taking part in or inclined to rebellion against established authority: The rebellious troops seized the airport.[5][11][4]
  2. Resisting control or discipline; defiant: a rebellious teenager.[5][11]
  3. Characteristic of a rebel or a rebellion: a rebellious mood.[5][4]
  4. Of a problem, a thing or a disease: hard to manage or treat; refractory.[11][4][3]

Word family

  • rebelliously
  • rebelliousness
  • nonrebellious
  • unrebellious

Usage notes

In Sussex dialect rebellious was a corruption of bilious, as in rebellious pills.[12]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d 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)
  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 e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  8. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  10. ^ 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 c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  12. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)