abhorreo

Forms

abhorreō (present infinitive abhorrēre, perfect active abhorruī, supine abhorritum); second conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from ab- (“from, away”) and horreō (“to bristle, shudder”).^[2][1][3] De Vaan derives ⟨horreō⟩ from Proto-Italic *χorsē- (“to be stiff”) and Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰrs-eh₁- (“to be stiff, surprised”), from the root *ǵʰers-, cognate with Sanskrit हर्षते (hárṣate, “is delighted”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus is its first author in the OLD, whose Mercator has ab Atticīs abhorreō, “I recoil from the Athenians”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to shrink back from or shun, and with a negative to be attracted, as Tacitus' young heart that “did not shrink from Berenice”.^[2][5] It is to be averse to a course of action, as Terence's young man “averse to marriage”, and of character to be incapable of, “above”, a fault.^[2]

Of things it is to be uncongenial or to jar, as Cicero's style “repugnant to the ears of the crowd”, to be out of keeping or at variance with something, and to differ or deviate from a standard.^[2][5] Church Latin glosses it “shrink back or away from”.^[6] English abhor comes from it, recorded from about 1400.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of shrinking from the Athenians.^[2][7]
• 190–159 BC – Terence of aversion to marriage.^[2][7]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of being out of keeping and different.^[2][7]
• c. 1400 – English abhor.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To shrink back from, recoil from, shun; to abhor.^[2][5][1][6]
2. To be averse to, have no taste for.^[2][1]
3. To be incompatible with; to be incapable of.^[2]
4. To be uncongenial or repugnant (to).^[2]
5. To be out of keeping, be at variance (with); to differ, deviate.^[2][1]

Word family

• abhorridus
• abhorrēscō

Related words

• abhorridē
• exhorreō
• horreō
• inhorreō
• obhorreō
• perhorreō
• horror
• āversor
• English abhor

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de