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contumeliose

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word contumeliose

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
190–159 BC, Terence
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*tum-eh1-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin contumeliosus
Latin contumeliose

Forms

contumēliōsē (adverb); comparative contumēliōsius, superlative contumēliōsissimē[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin contumēliōsus (“insulting”) + -ē.[1] contumēliōsus comes from contumēlia (“insult”),[3] which de Vaan, like contumāx, derives from a verb *contumeō (“to be proud”), built on tumeō (“to swell”).[4] He traces that verb to Proto-Italic *tum-ē- and Proto-Indo-European *tum-eh1- (“to be swelling”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds the adverb from Terence on, earlier than the adjective, which appears with Cicero.[3] Köbler dates it from Cicero.[5]

Semantic evolution

It means in an insulting manner, insultingly or abusively:[1] Cicero speaks of saying spiteful and insulting things about people who are absent, of dismissing someone insultingly, and of attacking a man in public meetings.[2] Livy calls certain cities the fetters of Greece no more insultingly than truly, and Quintilian pairs it with harshness.[2]

Timeline

  • 190–159 BC – Terence.[3][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero, of insulting speech about the absent.[2][5]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy, comparative, of cities called fetters of Greece.[2][5]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Insultingly, abusively, in an insulting manner.[1][2]
  2. Disgracefully, with dishonour.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  3. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b 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 d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Contumeliose.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/contumeliose. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·