English
nebulous
Nebulous comes from Latin nebulōsus ‘full of mist, foggy, cloudy’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *nebʰ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nebʰ-‘to become damp, cloudy’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*nébʰos‘cloud, vapor, fog, moist, sky’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnebula‘mist, vapour, cloud’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnebulōsus‘full of mist, foggy, cloudy’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600nebuleus
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nebulous
- Englishearliest quotation 1915same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nebʰ-‘to become damp, cloudy’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*nébʰos‘cloud, vapor, fog, moist, sky’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnebula‘mist, vapour, cloud’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnebulōsus‘full of mist, foggy, cloudy’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600nebuleus
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nebulous
- Englishearliest quotation 1915same form
Earliest quotation: 1915, Arthur Conan Doyle: “The magistrate could not possibly, on the evidence, have…”
Equivalent to nebula + -ous
Proto-Indo-European *nebʰ- ‘to become damp, cloudy’
Proto-Indo-European *nébʰos ‘cloud’
Latin nebula ‘little cloud, mist’
English nebula
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *nebʰ- ‘to become damp, cloudy’
through Proto-Indo-European *nébʰos ‘cloud, vapor, fog, moist, sky’
Today it means
adj In the form of a cloud or haze; hazy.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *nebʰ- / nebulous