Tenebrous
/ˈtɛn.ə.brəs/noun
Dark, shadowy, or obscure.
Did you know?Its root is the same Latin source behind the rare word tenebrific, and it entered English through learned, literary borrowing rather than everyday speech.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*temH-
“to darken; to be dark”
Latin
Latin
tenebrae
“darkness; shadows; gloom”
Late Latin
Latin
tenebrosus
“full of darkness; gloomy”
Middle English
English
tenebrous
“dark, gloomy, obscure”
Modern English
English
tenebrous
“dark, shadowy, or obscure”
Explore more surprising origins