Etymologically
Log in

tenebrosus

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 21:28. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [tɛ.nɛˈbroː.sʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [te.neˈbrɔː.s̬us][1]

Forms

tenebrōsus (feminine tenebrōsa, neuter tenebrōsum, comparative tenebrōsior, superlative tenebrōsissimus); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin tenebrae (“darkness”) + -ōsus.[2][1] Tenebrae continues Proto-Italic *temazros, from Proto-Indo-European *temH- (“dark”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates its first use to Catullus, 81/79–52/50 BC.[3] Virgil uses it of dark air and of the Underworld's marsh.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant unlit, dark, gloomy, and Lewis & Short note that it is poetic and found in post-Augustan prose.[2][4] Ovid uses it of Tartarus and a dark cave, and Cicero, in a fragment, of dark stairs.[4][5] Figuratively Tertullian calls a man obscure tenebrosus, and Justinian's Code speaks of a most obscure error.[6]

In Christian and medieval Latin it was dark, without light, bringing darkness, and often figurative.[7] English tenebrous is recorded in the late 15th century, through Old French.[8]

Timeline

  • 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus uses it.[3]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of dark air.[4][3]
  • c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it of an obscure man.[6][3]
  • late 15th century – English tenebrous is recorded.[8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Dark, gloomy, unlit.[2][4]
  2. (figurative) Obscure.[6][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c 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 d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com