English
impetuous
Impetuous comes from Old French impetueux ‘forceful’, from Late Latin impetuōsus ‘violent’, and ultimately from Latin impetus.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpetus‘attack, violence’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEimpetuōsus‘violent’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400impetueux‘forceful’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500impetuous
- Englishearliest quotation 1590same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpetus‘attack, violence’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEimpetuōsus‘violent’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400impetueux‘forceful’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500impetuous
- Englishearliest quotation 1590same form
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto IX: “For with ſuch puiſſance and impetuous maine / Thoſe…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to spread out’
pass, mile, expansion, expand, patent, pen, helicopter, feather, symptom, spawn, expanse, pennant, patina, pinion, patella, pata, penna, 82 more
through Proto-Indo-European *péth₂eti ‘to fly’
competent, repetition, 14 more
through Latin petō ‘to ask, beg, request, look for, inquire,…’
repeat, petition, compete, competitor, perpetual, perpetuate, perpetuity, petulant, petulance, 16 more
Today it means
adj Making arbitrary decisions, especially in an impulsive and forceful manner.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin impetus / impetuous