violent

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈvaɪ.ə.lənt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English violent, borrowed from Old French violent and directly from Latin violentus (“vehement, forcible”),^[2][3][4] related to violāre “to violate”.^[2][3][4] It is related to violate and violence.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of the sun, heat and the like, very strong in effect: about 1340 in the OED, in The Prick of Conscience according to Barnhart.^[5][3] Etymonline dates actions done with sudden, harmful force to the mid-14th century.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Barnhart dates the sense “using strong physical force to harm” to about 1384.^[3] Of natural forces it is from about 1375,^[5] and intense or extreme in any respect, of persons and natural phenomena, by the late 14th century.^[2] Of passions it is from 1586,^[5] and of colour, very bright, from 1768.^[5] Violence is from about 1300.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1340 – very strong in effect.^[5][3]
• c. 1375 – of natural forces.^[5]
• c. 1384 – using harmful force.^[3]
• 1586 – of passions.^[5]
• 1768 – of colour.^[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Using or involving physical force meant to hurt or kill.
2. Very strong or sudden: a violent storm.
3. Showing strong feeling: a violent temper.
4. Caused by force rather than natural causes: a violent death.

Word family

• violently
• overviolent
• ultraviolent
• unviolent
• violent storm

Related words

• violence
• violate

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press