Etymologically
Log in

odiosus

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word odiosus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*h₃ed-)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɔ.diˈoː.sʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [o.diˈɔː.s̬us][1]

Forms

odiōsus (feminine odiōsa, neuter odiōsum, comparative odiōsior); first/second-declension adjective[1] Plautus has the old spelling odiossus.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin odium (“hatred”) + -ōsus.[2][1][3] The noun odium belongs with ōdī (“I hate”), going back to Proto-Italic *odiom (“hatred”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- (“to hate”).[4][1] Cognate with Ancient Greek ὀδύσσασθαι (odússasthai, “to be angry”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Plautus,[5] whose Truculentus has a soldier's gifts held hateful and unwelcome.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is used of what excites dislike, distasteful or offensive, and in a milder sense of what is tiresome or annoying, as in Plautus' “no guest can stay with a friend for three days on end without becoming a nuisance”.[2][6] Lewis & Short give invīsus and offēnsus as synonyms.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of hateful gifts and of a tiresome guest.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero.[6][5]
  • late 14th century – Its descendant enters English as odious, through Anglo-French.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Hateful, odious, offensive, disagreeable.[2][6][1]
  2. Tiresome, annoying, troublesome.[2][6][1]

Word family

  • perodiōsus
  • subodiōsus

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 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Odiosus.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/odiosus. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·