English
viscous
Viscous comes from Latin viscum ‘birdlime’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEviscum‘birdlime’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEviscosus
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400viscous
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600visqueux
- Englishearliest quotation 2014viscous
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEviscum‘birdlime’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEviscosus
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400viscous
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600visqueux
- Englishearliest quotation 2014viscous
Earliest quotation: 2014, Olivia Judson, International New York Times: “[…] The flesh [of the mistletoe berry] is sticky,…”
first attested First attested in 1605 (as stated in the etymology)
The story
First attested in 1605.
Every English word from Latin viscum
Today it means
adj Having a thick, sticky consistency between solid and liquid (that is, a high viscosity).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin viscum / viscous