Etymograph

English

hateful

Hateful comes from Middle English hateful ‘Hateful, angry, ireful, raging’, and goes back to hate.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hate1
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hateful2‘Hateful, angry, ireful, raging’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1682hateful2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Middle English hateful
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English hateful
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1682, Thomas Otway, Venice Preserv’d: “Home I vvould go, / But that my Dores…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hateWiktionary, Middle English hateful
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hatefulWiktionary, English hateful‘Hateful, angry, ireful, raging’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1682hatefulWiktionary, English hateful. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1682, Thomas Otway, Venice Preserv’d: “Home I vvould go, / But that my Dores…”

Linked words

through Middle English hate

hatred, 2 more

Today it means

adj Evoking a feeling of hatred.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “hateful”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Middle English hateful. 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 / Middle English hate / hateful

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