Etymograph

English

glorious

Glorious comes from Latin glōriōsus ‘glorious, full of glory’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Italic *gnōr-.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnōr-1uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEglōria2‘glory’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEglōriōsus3‘glorious, full of glory’
  4. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400glorius3
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500glorious3‘Recognised, acclaimed, well-known’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588glorious3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin gloria
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin gloriosus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English glorious
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “Make heauen to frowne and euery fixed ſtarre To…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnōr-Wiktionary, Latin gloriauncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEglōriaWiktionary, Latin gloriosus‘glory’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEglōriōsusWiktionary, English glorious‘glorious, full of glory’
  4. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400gloriusWiktionary, English glorious
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gloriousWiktionary, English glorious‘Recognised, acclaimed, well-known’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588gloriousWiktionary, English glorious. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “Make heauen to frowne and euery fixed ſtarre To…”

Linked words

through Latin glōria ‘glory’

glory, 8 more

Today it means

adj Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “glorious”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin gloria, Latin gloriosus. 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-Italic *gnōr- / glorious

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