Etymograph

English

facinorous

Facinorous comes from Latin facinorōsus ‘criminal, villainous’, from facinus ‘deed, bad deed’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁k-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁k-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰh₁kyéti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θakjō1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fakjō1‘to make’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfaciō2‘to make, to do’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfacinus2‘deed, bad deed’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfacinorōsus2‘criminal, villainous’
  8. Englishtodayfacinorous2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin facio
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English facinorous

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁k-Wiktionary, Latin facioreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰh₁kyétiWiktionary, Latin facioreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θakjōWiktionary, Latin facioreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fakjōWiktionary, Latin facio‘to make’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfaciōWiktionary, English facinorous‘to make, to do’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfacinusWiktionary, English facinorous‘deed, bad deed’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfacinorōsusWiktionary, English facinorous‘criminal, villainous’
  8. EnglishtodayfacinorousWiktionary, English facinorous

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *θakjō

effectively, effectiveness, ineffective, affectionate, imperfection, putrefaction, 61 more

through Proto-Italic *fakjō ‘to make’

effective, difficulty, factor, perfection, affection, manufacture, interface, faction, imperfect, affective, defection, facet, defector, effector, affectation, confectionary, deface, 67 more

through Latin faciō ‘to make, to do’

perfect, difficult, face, effect, fact, feature, affect, profit, efficient, infection, facility, sacrifice, affair, faculty, feat, deficit, defect, facilitate, fetish, facial, efficacy, superficial, counterfeit, deficient, infect, facade, maleficent, facsimile, beautify, confection, hacienda, aficionado, parfait, confit, difficile, beneficent, refectory, efficacious, facies, 84 more

Today it means

adj Extremely wicked.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “facinorous”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin facio. 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 *dʰeh₁k- / facinorous

Shirt and support for this word