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formido

Etymology and origin of the Latin word formido

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Confidence
Uncertain
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Plautus

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [fɔrˈmiː.doː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [forˈmiː.do][1]

Forms

formīdō f (genitive formīdinis); third declension[1]

Etymology

Its origin is unknown.[1][2] De Vaan and the OLD compare Ancient Greek μορμώ (mormṓ, “bogey”) and Ancient Greek μορμύσσομαι (mormússomai, “to frighten”), which would require Proto-Italic *morm-īdō and a dissimilation of the first m to f; the suffix -īdō makes it a counterpart of cupīdō “desire”.[3][4] An older view, given by Lewis & Short, connected it with firmus, the fear that makes rigid.[5][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus.[3][6] In Plautus Bromia says that the same terror struck her and the other women.[4] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant acute fear, terror or alarm, and then a thing that frightens, a horror or bogey, such as the terrors some people fear after death.[4] The verb formīdāre, derived from the noun, meant to be afraid of something.[4] Virgil and Horace also used formīdō for a line of coloured feathers stretched to scare game, a scarecrow.[5][7]

Medieval writers used it of terror and of misgiving.[8] Its derivative formīdābilis “causing fear” gave English formidable in the mid-15th century.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses the noun and the verb.[4][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of terrors feared after death.[4][6]
  • mid-15th century – English formidable is recorded.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Terror, dread, alarm.[4]
  2. A thing that frightens, a bogey.[4]

Verb

  1. To fear, dread, be afraid (of).[4]

Word family

  • formīdolōsus
  • afformīdō
  • formīdābilis
  • formīdāmen
  • informīdātus
  • praeformīdō
  • reformīdō
  • formīdulōsus
  • performīdō
  • English formidable

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Formido.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/formido. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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