Invective
/ɪnˈvɛk.tɪv/noun
Abusive or insulting language.
Did you know?Invective comes from Latin invectivus, from invectus, “carried against” or “attacked,” from invehere, showing how language itself was imagined as something hurled at a target.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
invectivus
“abusive; attacking in speech”
Classical Latin
Latin
invectus
“carried against; attacked”
Latin
Latin
invehere
“to carry into, ride into; to attack verbally”
Late Middle English
English
invectif
“abusive, railing”
16th Century
English
invective
“abusive language; denunciation”
Modern English
English
invective
“insulting or denunciatory speech”