Etymology and origin of the English word venal
Pronunciation
- /ˈviːnəl/[1]
venal1 of the veins
From the same root · venal1
Etymology
The word for "of the veins" is borrowed from Medieval Latin venalis, recorded from the 13th century,[2] formed from Latin vēna (“vein”) and -ālis.[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged and the Shorter Oxford instead take it as the same Latin noun with the English suffix -al.[3][4] The OED compares veinal.[2]
Earliest recorded meaning
Applied to a pulmonary vein, also called the veinous artery: about 1425, in a translation of Guy de Chauliac's Grande Chirurgie.[2]
Semantic evolution
From 1615, in H. Crooke's Mikrokosmographia, it was used of blood contained in the veins, and more generally of what relates to a vein, the sense of venous.[2] Johnson (1755) gave it as a second sense, "contained in the veins", and called it a technical word.[5] The Shorter Oxford now calls the word rare, and Merriam-Webster Unabridged archaic.[4][3]
Timeline
- c. 1425 – of a pulmonary vein.[2]
- 1615 – of blood, contained in the veins; of or relating to a vein.[2][6]
Meanings
Adjective
venal2 for sale, corruptible
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Borrowing
- First attested
- 1652 J. Gaule, Pys-mantia
- Borrowed from
- Latin venalis
- Ultimate origin
- Proto-Indo-European *wes-
From the same root · venal2
Etymology
The word for what can be bought is borrowed from Latin vēnālis (“for sale”),[2][7][8][9][10] and Barnhart and Etymonline add French vénal as a second source.[11][12] The Latin adjective is from vēnum (“sale, thing for sale”) and -ālis.[3][13] Etymonline traces the noun to Proto-Indo-European *wes-no- (“price”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *wes- (“to buy, sell”),[12][7] and Barnhart and Hoad compare it with Ancient Greek ὦνος (ônos, “purchase price”).[11][8] Etymonline also cites Old French venel (“for sale”), used in the 12th century of prostitutes among others,[12] and the OED compares venal and venale.[2]
Earliest recorded meaning
Of support or favour, obtainable for a price: 1652, in J. Gaule's Pys-mantia.[2][11][3] Etymonline dates the sense "that can be obtained for a price, corrupted" much earlier, to the mid-15th century.[12]
Semantic evolution
The Latin adjective meant "for sale" and could also mean "open to bribes".[12] In English the word was first applied to things, and Word Origins notes that it began as "available for purchase", of goods or a favour.[14] It was used of goods on sale from 1662, in Evelyn,[2] of offices and privileges that could be bought instead of being earned from 1675,[2][4] and of persons who could be bribed from 1670, in a letter by Marvell.[2] Hoad dates the sense "mercenary" later, to the 18th century.[8] Conduct and dealings tainted by corrupt bargaining follow from 1719, in Rowe's translation of Lucan.[2] Johnson (1755) defined the word as "mercenary; prostitute".[5] The Century Dictionary, quoted by Etymonline, found in it the idea of a complete sale of character and principle to a buyer.[12] The sense "for sale" is now archaic.[2][4]
Timeline
- 1652 – of support or favour, to be had for a price.[2][11][3]
- 1662 – of goods, offered for sale.[2] Etymonline dates this to the 1660s.[12]
- 1670 – of persons, open to bribery.[2]
- 1675 – of offices and privileges, to be had by purchase.[2]
- 1719 – of conduct, subject to corrupt influence.[2]
Meanings
Adjective
- Ready to be bribed or bought; mercenary: a venal town councillor.[10][3][15]
- Marked by corruption or bribery: a venal deal with the port authorities.[10][3][15]
- Obtainable for a price, especially by bribery: venal appointments.[10][15][2][3]
- (archaic) Offered for sale as ordinary merchandise.[2][4]
Word family
- venally
- venality
- nonvenal
- unvenal
Related words
- vein
- vend
- venial
Usage notes
Dictionary.com lists it with venial as a pair easily confused.[13]
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
- ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
- ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
- ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
- ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Related etymologies
- archbishop · also from Latin
- predecessor · also from Latin
- deliberate · also from Latin
- applause · also from Latin
- endure · also from Latin
- pardon · also from Latin
- notorious · also from Latin
- vagina · also from Latin
Cite this entry
“Venal.” Etymologically, 5 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/venal. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.
Last edited on . ·