Etymograph

English

controversial

Controversial comes from Latin contrōversia ‘a quarrel, dispute, debate’, and goes back to contrōversus.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontrōversus‘controversial, debatable, disputed’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontrōversia‘a quarrel, dispute, debate’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontrōversiālis
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1849–1861controversial

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontrōversus‘controversial, debatable, disputed’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontrōversia‘a quarrel, dispute, debate’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontrōversiālis
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1849–1861controversial

Earliest quotation: 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Secon: “Whole libraries of controversial books.”

Equivalent to controversy + -al

Latin contrōversus ‘turned in an opposite direction’

Latin contrōversia ‘debate, contention, controversy’

Old French controversie

Middle English controversie

English controversy

Every English word from Latin contrōversus

Today it means

adj Arousing or likely to arouse controversy.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Latin contrōversus / controversial

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