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exacerbo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word exacerbo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
59 BC–17 AD, Livy
Ultimate origin
Latin acerbō

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɛk.saˈkɛr.boː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [eɡ.zaˈt͡ʃɛr.bo][1]

Forms

exacerbō (present infinitive exacerbāre, perfect active exacerbāvī, supine exacerbātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin ex- + acerbō (“to make bitter”),[2][3][1] and the base verb is formed on the adjective acerbus (“bitter, harsh”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in Livy, of minds embittered by some fresh anger.[2][4][5]

Semantic evolution

L&S notes that it is not found before the Augustan age.[4] From irritating and provoking people,[2][4] it came to mean making a condition worse, as in Celsus of an ulcer,[2] and in legal Latin increasing a punishment.[4] Suetonius and Pliny the Younger use it too, the latter of a loss felt the more bitterly.[4][6]

In Christian Latin the Vulgate uses it in the Psalms, and Stelten glosses it as “provoke, embitter”.[4][7] Some biblical manuscripts write it ⟨exacervo⟩.[3] English exacerbate is formed from its past participle or from exacerbation.[8]

Timeline

  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of minds stirred to anger.[2][5]
  • 14–37 AD – Celsus uses it of an ulcer made worse.[2][5]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius uses it of provoking people.[4][5]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it in the Psalms.[4][5]
  • 1650s – English exacerbate is formed from it.[8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To irritate, exasperate, provoke to anger; to grieve.[2][4]
  2. To aggravate, make worse;[2][4] (law) to increase a punishment.[2][4]

Word family

  • exacerbātiō
  • exacerbātrīx
  • exacerbēscō
  • English exacerbate

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Exacerbo.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/exacerbo. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·