*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of fetid

Etymology tree Latin fēteō Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Italic *-iðos Latin -idus Latin fētidusbor. English fetid Borrowed from Latin fētidus (“having offensive odour”), originally fēteō (“to stink”).

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

The foul-smelling asafoetida plant, or its extracts.

adj

Foul-smelling, stinking. · Unpleasant.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Latin fēteō Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Italic *-iðos Latin -idus Latin fētidusbor. English fetid Borrowed from Latin fētidus (“having offensive odour”), originally fēteō (“to stink”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "la:fētidus",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nLatin fēteō\nProto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der.\nProto-Italic *-iðos\nLatin -idus\nLatin fētidusbor.\nEnglish fetid\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"to stink\", \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"fēteō\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"la\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"do\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*dʰeh₁-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*-iðos\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-idus\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"fētidus\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"fetid\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"fetid\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "fētidus",
        "4": "",
        "5": "having offensive odour"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Latin fētidus (“having offensive odour”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "la:fētidus",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nLatin fēteō\nProto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der.\nProto-Italic *-iðos\nLatin -idus\nLatin fētidusbor.\nEnglish fetid"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "fēteō",
      "feteo#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*dʰeh₁-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dʰeh₁-#Proto-Indo-European:_do"
    ],
    [
      "*-iðos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/-iðos"
    ],
    [
      "-idus",
      "-idus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "fētidus",
      "fetidus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "fētidus",
      "fetidus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "fēteō",
      "feteo#Latin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The foul-smelling asafoetida plant, or its extracts."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "rare"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 221387
    },
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Foul-smelling, stinking.",
        "Unpleasant."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dated",
        "slang"
      ],
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      "rawRecordSha256": "a95911ec470522b52b1a96deedd86fb475e864a97e3f74d33905b032b619e1da",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 221386
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for fetid →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-ZmV0aWQ