English
tempestuous
Tempestuous comes from Latin tempestuōsus ‘stormy, turbulent, tempestuous’, from tempestās ‘point or period of time’, and ultimately from tempus.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtempus‘period of time’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtempestās‘point or period of time’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtempestuōsus‘stormy, turbulent, tempestuous’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400tempestous
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tempestious‘stormy, turbulent, tempestuous’
- Englishearliest quotation 1509tempestuous
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtempus‘period of time’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtempestās‘point or period of time’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtempestuōsus‘stormy, turbulent, tempestuous’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400tempestous
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tempestious‘stormy, turbulent, tempestuous’
- Englishearliest quotation 1509tempestuous
Earliest quotation: 1509, [The Argument]: “I wyl aduertise you that this Boke is named…”
The story
From Late Middle English tempestious, tempestous, tempestuous (‘stormy, turbulent, tempestuous’), from Anglo-Norman tempestous, and Old French tempesteus, tempestos, tempestous, tempestuose (modern French tempétueux), and directly from its etymon Latin tempestuōsus (‘stormy, turbulent, tempestuous; impetuous’), from tempestās, tempestūs (‘point or period of time; season; weather, specifically bad weather; storm, tempest’) (from tempus (‘period of time; (rare) weather’), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *temh₁- (‘to cut’) or *ten- (‘to extend, stretch’)) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of; overly; prone to’ forming adjectives from nouns). The English word is equivalent to tempest + -uous (a variant of -ous (suffix forming adjectives from nouns, denoting the presence of a quality, typically in abundance)).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *temh₁- ‘to cut’
atom, contempt, epitome, tome, templar, toma, dichotomous, 35 more
through Latin tempus ‘period of time’
contemporary, temporary, temple, tense, template, tempo, temperament, matin, tempura, 13 more
Today it means
adj Of, pertaining to, or resembling, a tempest; also, of a place: frequently experiencing tempests; (very) stormy.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin tempus / tempestuous