ad nauseam

Where does the word "ad nauseam" come from? It comes from Latin ad nauseam, and was adopted directly into English (1600s).

Ad nauseam’s story begins in Latin: ad nauseam meant “to the point of nausea.” To the point of nausea, from ad (to) and nausea (seasickness). It reached English by 1600s as ad nauseam. Literally 'to the point of seasickness', from Latin 'nausea', itself from Greek 'naus', ship. Today, ad nauseam means repeated so often that it becomes tiresome or sickening.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient ad nauseam "to the point of nausea", to the point of nausea, from ad (to) and nausea (seasickness).
2. Stage 2 · English · 1600s ad nauseam "repeated to a tiresome or sickening degree", literally 'to the point of seasickness', from Latin 'nausea', itself from Greek 'naus', ship.