English
perversity
Perversity comes from Latin perversitās ‘frowardness, untowardness, perversity’, from perversus ‘overthrown’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wert- ‘to turn, to rotate, spin’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wert-‘to turn, to rotate, spin’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wertō‘to turn’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvertō‘to turn’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpervertō‘to overthrow’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEperversus‘overthrown’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEperversitās‘frowardness, untowardness, perversity’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600perversité
- Englishearliest quotation 1995perversity
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wert-‘to turn, to rotate, spin’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wertō‘to turn’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvertō‘to turn’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpervertō‘to overthrow’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEperversus‘overthrown’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEperversitās‘frowardness, untowardness, perversity’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600perversité
- Englishearliest quotation 1995perversity
Earliest quotation: 1995, Andreu Mas-Colell, Michael D. Whinston: “More generally, for the ULD property to hold, the…”
Formed from perverse + -ity
Proto-Indo-European *wert- ‘to turn, to rotate, spin’
…
Latin vertō ‘to turn’
Latin perversum ‘thoroughly turned’
Old French pervers
Middle English perverse
English perverse
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *wert- ‘to turn, to rotate, spin’
word, worth, weird, ridiculous, universe, ridicule, derision, invert, deride, wurst, derisive, extraversion, 58 more
through Proto-Italic *wertō ‘to turn’
adverse, diversion, inverse, transverse, inversion, aversion, averse, vertebra, evert, reversion, vertiginous, 41 more
through Latin vertō ‘to turn’
university, version, divorce, conversation, vertical, versus, diverse, advertisement, verse, vortex, diversity, convertible, versatile, advert, divert, revert, vertex, vertigo, diversification, avert, vertebrate, introvert, subvert, vert, adversity, verso, 51 more
Today it means
noun The quality of being perverse.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wert- / perversity