indecision etymology

Etymology:

"Indecision" is derived from two Latin words:

• "in": "not, without"
• "decidere": "to cut, to decide"

Meaning:

Indecision refers to the state of being unable to make a decision or choose between two or more alternatives. It is characterized by hesitation, uncertainty, and vacillation.

Origin:

The word "indecision" first appeared in English in the late 16th century. It was initially used to describe the inability to decide between two courses of action, implying a state of inaction or uncertainty. Over time, the meaning of the word expanded to encompass any situation involving difficulty in making a choice.

Historical Usage:

• 1599: The philosopher William Shakespeare wrote in "Much Ado About Nothing": "Here is our chiefest strife: our love must hinder / Which of us is to blame. Indecision grows / O' the counterpois'd kings."
• 1776: The historian Edward Gibbon wrote in "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire": "The public interest often became the sacrifice of indecision, or the object of avarice."
• 1859: The naturalist Charles Darwin wrote in "On the Origin of Species": "Towards the Canaries, however, birds of all kinds, both songsters and hawks, become rare; and we have seen how their numbers annually become smaller even there. This gradual decrease, as we travel eastward to the Cape de Verde Islands, may be attributed to the increasing dryness of the climate, and perhaps also to indecision between migrating and not migrating."

indecision relate terms

• decision

  Etymology Late Middle English from Anglo Norman French descisioun from Latin decisio

• enemy

  Etymology The word enemy comes from the Old French word ennemi which in turn is der

• dubiety

  Etymology Origin Latin dubius doubtful Middle English doutey Old French dobte me

• doubt

  Etymology The word doubt derives from the Old French word douter meaning to fear h

• incertitude

  Etymology From Old French incertitude from Latin incertitudinis genitive of incertitu

• hesitation

  Etymology From Middle English hesitacioun from Old French hesitacion from Latin hæsi

• stop

  Etymology The word stop comes from the Middle English word stoppen which itself deri

• proverb

  Etymology The word proverb originates from the Latin word proverbium which means a

• accident

  Etymology The word accident comes from the Middle English word accident which in tu

• disposition

  Etymology Latin dispositio arrangement disposition From disponere to arrange d

• conniption

  Etymology Late 18th century from the verb connive meaning to wink at or pretend