abhor

Where does the word "abhor" come from? It comes from Latin abhorrere, passing through Old French before entering English (1400s).

Abhor’s story begins in Latin: abhorrere meant “to shrink back in horror.” 'ab-', from, plus 'horrere', to bristle. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as abhorrer. Borrowed into English around 1400; the Latin root 'horrere' pictured hair bristling in a shudder of disgust. It reached English by 1400s as abhor. 'nature abhors a vacuum' comes from Aristotle via Latin; the verb is first recorded before 1425 in an English translation of the French surgeon Guy de Chauliac's Latin surgical manual. Today, abhor means to regard with disgust.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient abhorrere "to shrink back in horror", 'ab-', from, plus 'horrere', to bristle.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval abhorrer "to abhor", borrowed into English around 1400; the Latin root 'horrere' pictured hair bristling in a shudder of disgust.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1400s abhor "to shrink from", 'nature abhors a vacuum' comes from Aristotle via Latin; the verb is first recorded before 1425 in an English translation of the French surgeon Guy de Chauliac's Latin surgical manual.