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nefarius

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word nefarius

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
234–149 BC, Cato
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*bʰeh₂-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin nefas
Latin nefarius

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [nɛˈfaː.ri.ʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [neˈfaː.ri.us][1]

Forms

nefārius (feminine nefāria, neuter nefārium); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin nefās (“what is wrong, a crime”) + -ius.[2][1][3][4] nefās is from ne- (“not”) and fās (“divine law, what is right”), which de Vaan derives from Proto-Italic *faos, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂-os (“saying, utterance”), originally only in ⟨fās est⟩ “the saying exists, it is right”.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler first records it in Cato.[3] Scaurus calls someone nefārius vulturius, “an abominable vulture”.[2]

Semantic evolution

Nefārius is “offending against divine and moral law, wicked, impious”, of persons (Cicero: nefārium impiumque, “wicked and impious”) and of acts, and so “horrible, vile, foul” (Catullus: nefāria scrīpta Sēstī, “the abominable writings of Sestius”, Cicero: ō rem cum audītū crūdēlem tum vīsū nefāriam!, “a thing cruel to hear and abominable to see!”).[2][6][1] L&S give impius and sacrilegus as synonyms.[6]

Church Latin glosses it “impious, wicked, evil”.[7] English nefarious comes from it about 1600.[4]

Timeline

  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it.[3]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero: nefārium impiumque.[2][3]
  • 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus: nefāria scrīpta Sēstī.[2][3]
  • c. 1600 – English nefarious.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. wicked, impious, nefarious.[2][6][1][7]
  2. Horrible, vile, abominable.[2][1]

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

“Nefarius.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/nefarius. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·