vaporous

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*kwep-“to boil; to smoke, steam; aroma; strong odour”
2. Latin · derived fromvapor“exhalation; smoke; steam, vapour”
3. Late Latin · derived fromvapōrōsus“full of steam”
4. Middle English · inherited fromvaporous
5. English todayvaporous

From Middle English vaporous, from Late Latin vapōrōsus (“full of steam”), from Latin vapor (“exhalation; smoke; steam, vapour”) (possibly related to Proto-Indo-European *kwep- (“to boil; to smoke, steam; aroma; strong odour”)) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of, overly, prone to’ forming adjectives from nouns). The English word is analysable as vapour + -ous. Possibly a doublet of hope. Cognates * French vaporeux (“misty, vaporous; filmy, transparent”) * Italian vaporoso (“flimsy, gauzy; fluffy; vaporous”) * Portuguese vaporoso * Spanish vaporoso (“airy; vaporous”)

Words from the same roots