English
impetuosity
Impetuosity comes from Middle French impétuosité.
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600impétuosité
- Englishearliest quotation 1749impetuosity
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600impétuosité
- Englishearliest quotation 1749impetuosity
Earliest quotation: 1749, Henry Fielding, London: A[ndrew] Millar: “She had however another motive, beside her obedience, to…”
Formed from impetuous + -ity
Latin impetus ‘attack, violence’
Late Latin impetuōsus ‘violent’
Old French impetueux ‘forceful’
Middle English impetuous
English impetuous
Every English word from Middle French impétuosité
Today it means
noun The quality of making rash or arbitrary decisions, especially in an impulsive or forceful manner.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle French impétuosité / impetuosity