Etymologically
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offensivus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɔf.fẽːˈsiː.wʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [of.fenˈsiː.vus][1]

Forms

offēnsīvus (feminine offēnsīva, neuter offēnsīvum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin offendō (“to strike against, offend”) + -īvus,[1][2][3] formed on the verb's participle stem ⟨offēns-⟩.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first dated quotation in the DMLBS, from 1319, calls a statement “rightly offensive to pious ears”.[2]

Semantic evolution

The British medieval sources use it of what strikes against an obstacle, in natural philosophy; of weapons for attack, arma offensiva as against arma defensiva; of what offends or insults, with a genitive or a dative; and once of what is unpleasant, set against what pleases.[2] Köbler dates it to about 1357.[3]

English offensive (1540s) comes from French and directly from this Medieval Latin word.[4]

Timeline

  • 1319 – A treatise calls a statement offensive to pious ears.[2]
  • 1322 – Arma … sive defensiva sive offensiva: weapons for defence and for attack.[2]
  • c. 1358 – Used of subject matter that offends a university.[2]
  • 1382 – Used with a dative, of words offensive to the hearers' ears.[2]
  • 1540s – English takes it as offensive.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (Medieval Latin) striking or hitting against something.[2][1]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Used for assault or attack: arma offensiva, offensive weapons.[2][1]
  3. (Medieval Latin) offensive, harmful or insulting.[2][1]
  4. (Medieval Latin) unpleasant.[2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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
  3. ^ a b 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