Etymology

infernal

I1N1F4E1R1N1A1L1

Today it means: Of or relating to hell, or the world of the dead; hellish. Full definition →

Old French infernal ← Latin īnfernālis ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?
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The story

  1. Latinīnferna
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  4. Latinīnfernālis
  5. Old Frenchinfernal
  6. English todayinfernal

From Middle French infernal, from Medieval Latin infernalis, from Latin īnfernus, from īnferum (“netherworld, underworld, hell”), equivalent to inferno + -al.

Words from the same roots

Latinīnfernus all →

inferno

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.