Etymology

contrite

C3O1N1T1R1I1T1E1

Today it means: Sincerely penitent or feeling regret or sorrow, especially for one’s own actions. Full definition →

Middle English contrit ← Old French contrit ← Latin contrītus
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm
  3. Proto-Italic*kom
  4. Proto-Italic*kom-
  5. Latincon-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*terh₁-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*térh₁ti
  8. Latinterō
  9. Latinconterō
  10. Latincontrītus
  11. Old Frenchcontrit
  12. Middle Englishcontrit
  13. English todaycontrite

From Middle English contrit, from Old French contrit, from Latin contrītus (literally “ground to pieces”), perfect passive participle of conterō (“grind, bruise”), from con- + terō (“rub, wear away”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.