Etymology
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abominable (adj.)

mid-14c., "exciting disgust or loathing, morally detestable," from Old French abominable (12c.) and directly from Late Latin abominabilis "deserving abhorrence," from stem of Latin abominari "deplore (as an evil omen)," hence, generally, "detest, execrate, deprecate," from ab "off, away from" (see ab-) + omin-, stem of omen (see omen).

The more common Middle English form was abhominable, which persisted into 17c.; it is a folk-etymology, as if from Latin ab homine "away from man" (thus "beastly"). In early Modern English sometimes misdivided as a bominable. Related: Abominably; abominableness. Abominable snowman (1921) translates Tibetan meetaoh kangmi.

also from mid-14c.
Origin and meaning of abominable

Entries linking to abominable

omen (n.)

"casual event or occurrence supposed to portend good or evil," 1580s, from Latin omen "foreboding, augury," according to Varro from Old Latin osmen; a word of unknown origin.

yeti (n.)

1937, from Sherpa (Tibetan) yeh-teh "small manlike animal." Compare abominable snowman (under abominable).

ab- 

word-forming element meaning "away, from, from off, down," denoting disjunction, separation, departure; from Latin ab (prep.) "off, away from" in reference to space or distance, also of time, from PIE root *apo- "off, away" (also the source of Greek apo "off, away from, from," Sanskrit apa "away from," Gothic af, English of, off; see apo-).

The Latin word also denoted "agency by; source, origin; relation to, in consequence of." Since classical times usually reduced to a- before -m-, -p-, or -v-; typically abs- before -c-, -q-, or -t-.

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Trends of abominable

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/. Ngrams are probably unreliable.

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updated on September 12, 2022

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Dictionary entries near abominable

aboil

abolish

abolition

abolitionism

abolitionist

abominable

abominate

abomination

aboriginal

aborigine

aborning