Etymology

censorious

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Today it means: Addicted to censure and scolding; apt to blame or condemn; severe in making remarks on others, or on their writings or manners. Full definition →

Latin cēnsōrius
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The story

  1. Latin · borrowed fromcēnsōrius“of or pertaining to a censor; severe”
  2. English todaycensorious

From Latin cēnsōrius (“of or pertaining to a censor; severe”). In sense 3 ("tending to engage in or support censorship"), reanalyzed as censor + -ious.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.