Etymograph

English

ignominious

Ignominious comes from Latin ignōminiōsus ‘disgraced’, from Proto-Italic *nōmn̥ ‘name’, and ultimately from Hittite ḫannaⁱ- ‘to sue, judge’.

  1. Hittitemodernḫannaⁱ-1transliteratedcuneiform ḫannaⁱ-, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary‘to sue, judge’
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁nómn̥2‘name’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nōmn̥2‘name’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōmen2
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEignōminia3‘disgrace, dishonour, shame, ignominy’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEignōminiōsus3‘disgraced’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600ignominieux3uncertain
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ignominious3‘disgraceful, shameful’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1591ignominious3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin ignominia
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English ignominious
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “Hath he not tvvit our Soueraigne Lady here /…”.

Lineage

  1. Hittitemodernḫannaⁱ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥transliteratedcuneiform ḫannaⁱ-, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary‘to sue, judge’
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁nómn̥Wiktionary, Latin ignominia‘name’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nōmn̥Wiktionary, Latin ignominia‘name’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōmenWiktionary, Latin ignominia
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEignōminiaWiktionary, English ignominious‘disgrace, dishonour, shame, ignominy’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEignōminiōsusWiktionary, English ignominious‘disgraced’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600ignominieuxWiktionary, English ignominiousuncertain
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ignominiousWiktionary, English ignominious‘disgraceful, shameful’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1591ignominiousWiktionary, English ignominious. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “Hath he not tvvit our Soueraigne Lady here /…”

The story

From Late Middle English ignominious (‘disgraceful, shameful’), from Middle French ignominieux (modern French ignominieux), or from its etymon Latin ignōminiōsus (‘disgraced; disgraceful, shameful, ignominious’), from ignōminia (‘disgrace, dishonour, shame, ignominy’) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of; overly; prone to’ forming adjectives from nouns). Ignōminia is derived from ig- (variant of in- (prefix meaning not) + nōmen (‘name; good name, reputation’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ (‘name’)) + -ia (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ ‘name’

name, anonymity, pseudonym, 32 more

through Latin nōmen

nomination, allocate, noun, nominate, nominal, renown, misnomer, nominative, nomen, 20 more

Today it means

adj Especially of a person: deserving of disgrace or dishonour; contemptible, despicable.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ignominious”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥, Latin ignominia. 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 / Hittite ḫannaⁱ- / ignominious

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