ambivalence

The story

1. Latin · derived fromambi-“both”
2. German · borrowed fromAmbivalenz“simultaneous conflicting feelings”
3. English todayambivalence

Borrowed from German Ambivalenz (“simultaneous conflicting feelings”), from Latin ambi- (“both”) and valentia (“strength”), from the verb valere (“to be strong”) (see valiant); spelled on the model of French-origin words ending in -ence. The German term was coined by Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler in 1910; by 1929, it had taken on a broader literary and general sense. Equivalent to ambi- + valence.

Words from the same roots