timid

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French timide (“fearful, easily frightened”), recorded from 1528, and directly borrowed from Latin timidus (“fearful, timorous”),^[2][3][4][5] from timeō (“to fear”) and the suffix -idus.^[2][6][7] The Latin verb is of unknown or uncertain origin;^[2][3][8][4] Klein suggests that it first meant "to be in the dark, grope about in the dark" and is related to tenebrae (“darkness”) and temere (“rashly, at random”), the source of temerity.^[9] The same verb gave timor (“fear”), whose medieval derivative timorōsus is the source of timorous.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lacking courage or confidence; easily frightened: about 1550, in the Complaynt of Scotland.^[2] Barnhart dates the word to 1549,^[10][4] and Etymonline to the 1540s.^[3] The OED notes that timidity is recorded earlier,^[2] while Barnhart dates timidity to 1598, in Florio.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The sense has stayed close to the Latin one of fearfulness, but has weakened to include shyness and mere reluctance.^[2] From 1634 the word was used of looks and actions that show fear or shyness,^[2] and since 1749 of excessive caution about the outcome of an action, as in a timid policy.^[2][11] The French word itself gained the sense "lacking confidence or courage" only in the 17th century.^[2] Johnson (1755) defined it as fearful, timorous, wanting courage or boldness.^[12]

Timeline

• c. 1550 – easily frightened; lacking courage or confidence.^[2] Barnhart dates it to 1549.^[4]
• 1634 – showing fear or shyness.^[2]
• 1749 – excessively cautious about the outcome of an action.^[2]
• 1764 – timid of, wary or shy of.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Lacking courage or self-confidence; easily frightened; shy: The timid deer bolted at the slightest noise.^[11][13][2]
2. Showing a lack of boldness, courage or determination; overly cautious: a timid smile, a timid reform.^[11][13][2]

Word family

• timidity
• timidly
• timidness
• untimid

Related words

• intimidate
• timorous
• temerity

Usage notes

The American Heritage Dictionary groups timid with timorous: both describe hesitating to act or assert oneself out of fear, apprehension or lack of self-confidence.^[14]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
8. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
9. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
10. ^ Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
11. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
12. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
13. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
14. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin