Etymograph

English

enmity

Enmity comes from Middle English enemyte ‘a feeling of enmity or hostility’, from Latin inimīcus ‘enemy’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃emh₃- ‘to grab, to grasp, to seize, to take hold,…’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃emh₃-1‘to grab, to grasp, to seize, to take hold, tackle, touch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*amāō1‘to get hold of’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamō1‘to love’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamīcus1‘friendly, well-disposed, amicable’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinimīcus1‘enemy’
  6. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*inimicitas1reconstructed
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400enemisté1
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500enemyte1‘a feeling of enmity or hostility’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1922enmity1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English enmity
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1922, Eleanour Sinclair Rohde, The Old English Herbals: “We know from their literature that to our Saxon…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃emh₃-Wiktionary, English enmity‘to grab, to grasp, to seize, to take hold, tackle, touch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*amāōWiktionary, English enmity‘to get hold of’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamōWiktionary, English enmity‘to love’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamīcusWiktionary, English enmity‘friendly, well-disposed, amicable’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinimīcusWiktionary, English enmity‘enemy’
  6. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*inimicitasWiktionary, English enmityreconstructed
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400enemistéWiktionary, English enmity
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500enemyteWiktionary, English enmity‘a feeling of enmity or hostility’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1922enmityWiktionary, English enmity. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1922, Eleanour Sinclair Rohde, The Old English Herbals: “We know from their literature that to our Saxon…”

Linked words

through Latin amō ‘to love’

amour, amenity, 20 more

through Latin amīcus ‘friendly, well-disposed, amicable’

amicable, amiable, amigo, amity, 5 more

through Latin inimīcus ‘enemy’

enemy, inimical, 3 more

Today it means

noun The quality of being an enemy; a hostile or unfriendly disposition.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “enmity”. 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 *h₃emh₃- / enmity

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