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timidus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word timidus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 235–200 BC, Naevius
Ultimate origin
Latin (timeō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin timeo
Latin timidus
Latin timor

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈtɪ.mɪ.dʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈtiː.mi.dus][1]

Forms

timidus (feminine timida, neuter timidum, comparative timidior); first/second-declension adjective[1] Naevius spells it timedus.[2]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin timeō (“to fear”) + -idus.[2][1][3] De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of timeō, whose origin is unknown: he rejects the comparison with words for “stiff” that Walde and Pokorny hesitantly made.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Naevius.[4] Ennius has timidō mānat ex omnī corpore sūdor, “sweat flows from every limb of the frightened man”, and Plautus timida es, “you are afraid”.[2]

Semantic evolution

Timidus is “easily frightened, fearful, timid”, the opposite of audāx, and also “cowardly”.[2][5] With a genitive it is “afraid of” (Horace: timidus procellae), with an infinitive “afraid to” (Horace: Codrus nōn timidus prō patriā morī), and it describes timid conduct and character.[2]

Church Latin glosses it “timid, fearful”.[6] English timid (1540s) comes from it, partly through French.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 235–200 BC – Naevius has timedus.[2][4][7]
  • 204–169 BC – Ennius: timidō mānat ex omnī corpore sūdor.[2][7]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace: nōn timidus prō patriā morī.[2][7]
  • 1540s – English timid.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Fearful, timid, afraid.[2][5][1][6]
  2. Cowardly, faint-hearted.[5][1]
  3. (with genitive) Afraid of, (with infinitive) afraid to.[2]

Word family

  • intimidus
  • timiditās
  • timidē
  • timidulē
  • timefactus
  • timendus
  • timēns
  • timeō
  • timor
  • timōrātus
  • English timid

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Timidus.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/timidus. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·