English
herbivorous
Herbivorous comes from New Latin herbivorus ‘herbivorous, plant-eating’, from Latin herba ‘grass’, and ultimately from vorō ‘to devour’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvorō1‘to devour’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEherba1‘grass’
- New Latinc. 1500–1900herbivorus1‘herbivorous, plant-eating’
- Englishearliest quotation 2002herbivorous1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English herbivorous
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2002, Ronald H. Karlson, Dynamics of Coral Communities: “One example of "an herbivorous fungus" is included among…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvorōWiktionary, English herbivorous‘to devour’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEherbaWiktionary, English herbivorous‘grass’
- New Latinc. 1500–1900herbivorusWiktionary, English herbivorous‘herbivorous, plant-eating’
- Englishearliest quotation 2002herbivorousWiktionary, English herbivorous. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2002, Ronald H. Karlson, Dynamics of Coral Communities: “One example of "an herbivorous fungus" is included among…”
Formed from herbivorus + -ous
The story
Adapted borrowing of New Latin herbivorus + -ous, from Latin herba (‘grass’) and -vorus, from vorō (‘to devour’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷerh₃- ‘to devour’
gorge, quirk, gurgle, ouroboros, 23 more
through Proto-Italic *worā
through Latin vorō ‘to devour’
through Latin herba ‘grass’
Today it means
adj Feeding chiefly on plants.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “herbivorous”. 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 / Latin vorō / herbivorous