redoubtable

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*dwi-“apart, asunder; two”
2. Latin · derived fromdubitō“to doubt, be uncertain, waver in opinion”
3. Old French · derived fromredotable
4. Middle French · derived fromredoutable
5. Anglo-Norman · derived fromredoutable
6. Middle English · inherited fromredoutable“worthy of honour, venerable; frightening, terrible”
7. English todayredoubtable

The adjective is derived from Late Middle English redoutable (“worthy of honour, venerable; frightening, terrible”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman redoutable and Middle French redoutable, redoubtable, from Old French redotable (modern French redoutable), from redoter (“to fear”) (whence Middle French redoubter, redouter, French redouter) + -able (suffix meaning ‘deserving of, worthy of’). Redoter is derived from re- (intensifying prefix) + doter (“to doubt; to fear”) (from Latin dubitō (“to doubt, be uncertain, waver in opinion”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dwi- (“apart, asunder; two”) + *bʰuH- (“to appear; to be; to become; to grow”), in the sense of being in two minds). By surface analysis, redoubt (“to dread”) + -able. The noun is derived from the adjective.

Words from the same roots