English
cruel
Cruel comes from Old French cruel, from Latin crūdēlis ‘hard, severe, cruel’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *krewh₂- ‘hardened blood, scab’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krewh₂-1‘hardened blood, scab’next step skipped: Latin crūdus
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrūdēlis1‘hard, severe, cruel’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400cruel1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cruel1
- Englishearliest quotation 1913cruel1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English cruel
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan: “The thought that something might befall him that would…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krewh₂-Wiktionary, English cruel‘hardened blood, scab’next step skipped: Latin crūdus
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrūdēlisWiktionary, English cruel‘hard, severe, cruel’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400cruelWiktionary, English cruel
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cruelWiktionary, English cruel
- Englishearliest quotation 1913cruelWiktionary, English cruel. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan: “The thought that something might befall him that would…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *krewh₂- ‘hardened blood, scab’
Today it means
adj Intentionally causing or reveling in pain and suffering; merciless, heartless.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “cruel”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *krewh₂- / cruel