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
- Using or involving physical force meant to hurt or kill.
- Very strong or sudden: a violent storm.
- Showing strong feeling: a violent temper.
- Caused by force rather than natural causes: a violent death.
Word family
- violently
- overviolent
- ultraviolent
- unviolent
- violent storm
Related words
- violence
- violate
References
- ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ 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