English
obtusity
Obtusity comes from Latin obtusitas, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewd- ‘to push, to hit’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)tewd-‘to push, to hit’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEobtusitas
- Englishearliest quotation 1848obtusity
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)tewd-‘to push, to hit’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEobtusitas
- Englishearliest quotation 1848obtusity
Earliest quotation: 1848, Vanity Fair--and Jane Eyre: “Some ladies would have thought it high time to…”
Formed from obtuse + -ity
Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewd- ‘to push, to hit’
Latin tundō ‘to beat, strike’
Latin obtundō ‘to batter, beat, strike’
Latin obtūsus ‘blunt, dull’
Middle English obtuse
English obtuse
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewd- ‘to push, to hit’
Today it means
noun obtuseness
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewd- / obtusity