English
violent
Violent comes from Old French violent, from Latin violentus, from violō ‘to use force’, related to vīs ‘strength’, from Proto-Indo-European *wéyHs.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyh₁-1‘to rush’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wéyHs1‘force’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wīs1‘strength’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīs2‘strength’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEviolō2‘to violate, use force’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEviolentus2‘forcible’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400violent2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500violent2‘violent, forcible’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1595violent2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin vis
- 2 Wiktionary, English violent
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1595, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet: “These violent delights have violent ends.”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyh₁-Wiktionary, Latin vis‘to rush’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*wéyHsWiktionary, Latin vis‘force’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wīsWiktionary, Latin vis‘strength’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīsWiktionary, English violent‘strength’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEviolōWiktionary, English violent‘to violate, use force’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEviolentusWiktionary, English violent‘forcible’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400violentWiktionary, English violent
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500violentWiktionary, English violent‘violent, forcible’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1595violentWiktionary, English violent. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1591–1595, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet: “These violent delights have violent ends.”
The story
For the verb, compare French violenter.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁- ‘to rush’
previous, obvious, virtual, voyage, convey, inevitable, virtue, trivial, trivia, envoy, deviation, virtuous, wer, virtuoso, venison, ochre, deviant, viaduct, virility, virile, trivium, virago, obviate, 54 more
through Proto-Italic *wīs ‘strength, force, power’
vengeance, avenge, vindication, 9 more
through Latin vīs ‘strength’
Today it means
adj Involving extreme force or motion.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “violent”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin vis. 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 *weyh₁- / violent