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Origin and history of timorous

timorous(adj.)

"shrinking, fearful, frightened," early 15c., from Old French temoros (14c.), from Medieval Latin timorosus "fearful," from Latin timor "fear, dread, apprehension, anxiety; religious awe, reverence," from timere "to fear, be afraid, dread," of unknown origin. Some early senses in English seem to show confusion with Middle English temerous "rash" (see temerity). Related: Timorously; timorousness; timorosity.

also from early 15c.

Entries linking to timorous

temerity(n.)

early 15c., temerite, "extreme venturesomeness, rashness, recklessness," from Old French temerite (14c.) and directly from Latin temeritatem (nominative temeritas) "blind chance, accident; rashness, indiscretion, foolhardiness," from temere "by chance, at random; indiscreetly, rashly, recklessly;" probably, etymologically, "blindly."

This is reconstructed to be from a PIE *temos- "darkness," source also of Sanskrit tamisra- "dark night," tamsrah "dark;" Avestan temah "darkness;" Middle Persian tar "darkness," tarig "dark;" Lithuanian tamsa "darkness," tamsus "dark;" Old Church Slavonic tima "darkness;" Old High German dinstar "dark," demar "twilight;" Old Irish temel "darkness."

The connecting notion would be "blindly, in darkness," hence "without foreseeing." Compare Latin tenebrio "dishonest person," apparently "person who operates in darkness" (see tenebrous).

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