English
insult
Insult comes from Latin īnsultō ‘to leap at; to insult’, from īnsiliō ‘to leap upon’, from saliō ‘to leap’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sel- ‘to jump’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sel-‘to jump, spring’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsaliō‘to leap, jump’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnsiliō‘to leap in or upon’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnsultō‘to leap at; to insult, revile’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600insulteruncertain
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1588–1593insult
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sel-‘to jump, spring’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsaliō‘to leap, jump’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnsiliō‘to leap in or upon’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnsultō‘to leap at; to insult, revile’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600insulteruncertain
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1588–1593insult
Earliest quotation: c. 1588–1593, William Shakespeare, The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus: “Giue me thy knife, I will inſult on him,…”
The story
The verb is derived from Middle French insulter (modern French insulter (‘to insult’)) or its etymon Latin īnsultō (‘to spring, leap or jump at or upon; to abuse, insult, revile, taunt’), the frequentative form of īnsiliō (‘to bound; to leap in or upon’), from in- (prefix meaning ‘in, inside, within’) + saliō (‘to bound, jump, leap; to spring forth; to flow down’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sel- (‘to spring’)).
Linked words
pairs
- insult and somersault both from Latin saliō ‘to leap, jump’
through Proto-Indo-European *sel- ‘jump, spring’
sale, result, savage, salmon, sally, salon, exile, silva, salvage, resilient, salle, salient, sill, sylvan, salacious, selva, slink, seel, selly, 18 more
Today it means
verb To be insensitive, insolent, or rude to (somebody); to affront or demean (someone).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sel- / insult