tenebrous English · revision 1217

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈtɛn.ɪ.bɹəs/, /ˈtɛn.ə.bɹəs/ ''(UK)''; /ˈtɛn.ə.bɹəs/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It comes from Middle English,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|fro|tenebreus]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|la|tenebrosus|t=dark]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''tenebrae'' “darkness”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) According to de Vaan, cited by Etymonline, ''tenebrae'' arose by dissimilation from earlier ''*temebrai'', from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning “dark”, the same root as in [[temerity]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Full of darkness, dark (about 1420 in the OED; probably before 1475 in Barnhart).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A figurative sense, obscure or gloomy, is recorded from 1599.^(OED 1989) The word has always been bookish, and its sense has changed little.^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * about 1420 – dark.^(OED 1989)

+ * early 15th century – ''tenebrosity'' “darkness”.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1599 – obscure, gloomy.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Dark and [[gloomy]]; shut off from light; [[murky]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Hard to understand; [[obscure]].^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Causing gloom.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[tenebrosity]]

+ * [[tenebrousness]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Tenebrae]]

+ * [[tenebrism]]

+ * [[tenebrific]]

+ * [[tenebrionid]]

+ * [[temerity]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}