Cruelty
/ˈkruːəlti/noun
The quality of being cruel; deliberate infliction of pain or suffering.
Did you know?English cruel ultimately comes from Latin *crudelis*, tied to *crudus* meaning “raw” or “bloody,” so the word’s ancient core is less “evil personality” and more “unprocessed, bloodied harshness.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*krewh₂-
“to be raw, bloody, or uncooked”
Latin
Latin
crudus
“raw, bloody, uncooked; harsh or unfeeling”
Latin
Latin
crudelis
“savage, hard, cruel”
Old French
Old French
cruel
“cruel, merciless”
Middle English
English
cruelte
“cruelty; harshness, mercilessness”
Modern English
English
cruelty
“the state or quality of being cruel”