Etymologically
Log in

invidiosus

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word invidiosus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
234–149 BC, Cato
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*weyd-)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɪn.wɪ.diˈoː.sʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [iɱ.vi.diˈɔː.s̬us][1]

Forms

invidiōsus (feminine invidiōsa, neuter invidiōsum, comparative invidiōsior, superlative invidiōsissimus, adverb invidiōsē); first/second-declension adjective[1] Christian inscriptions have the spellings inbidiōsus and invidiōsus with -biz- and -viz-.[2]

Etymology

It is formed from invidia (“envy, ill will”) with the suffix -ōsus (“full of”).[3][1] The noun belongs with invideō (“to envy”), from videō (“to see”), which de Vaan derives from Proto-Italic *wid-ē- (“to see”) and Proto-Indo-European *uid-eh₁- (“to see”).[4] Cognate with Umbrian uirseto (“seen”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Cato,[4][5] who says in the preface to his De agri cultura that the farmer's profit is the least resented of all.[3]

Semantic evolution

It is first what arouses ill will, unpopular, odious or invidious, as in Cato, and of words used to discredit an opponent, as Cicero's “a complaint that stirs up resentment”.[3][6] From Lucilius it is also what arouses envy, enviable, as Cicero's “enviable possessions”.[3][6] In the poets it is jealous or envious, as Propertius' goddess jealous of beautiful women and Ovid's envious old age.[3][6]

It was borrowed into English as invidious about 1600, and through French it gave envious.[7]

Timeline

  • 234–149 BC – Cato of a profit that arouses no resentment.[3][5]
  • c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius of what is enviable.[3][5]
  • 57/46–12 BC – Propertius of a jealous goddess.[3][5]
  • c. 1600 – Borrowed into English as invidious.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Arousing hatred or ill will, unpopular, odious, invidious.[3][6][1]
  2. Arousing envy, enviable.[3][6][1]
  3. Jealous, envious.[3][6][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c 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
  6. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Invidiosus.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/invidiosus. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·