entry
ambiguous
/æmˈbɪɡjuəs/Open to multiple meanings or interpretations
From Latin ambi- (around) + Latin agere (to drive).
from Latin ambiguus "having double meaning, shifting, changeable, doubtful," an adjective derived
+1 more sourcefrom Latin ambiguus "having double meaning, shifting, changeable, doubtful," an adjective derived
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Latin ambiguus "having double meaning, shifting, changeable, doubtful," an adjective derived
+1 more sourcefrom Latin ambiguus "having double meaning, shifting, changeable, doubtful," an adjective derived
+1 more sourcePicture a Roman idea literally unable to settle down: something goes around, shifts sides, and refuses to point in one clear direction. Latin ambiguus grew from ambi- “around” plus agere, “to drive or move,” so its earliest image was not a foggy sentence but something wandering or wavering. English picked it up in the 1520s; Sir Thomas More was among the first writers to use it, long before politicians made carefully cloudy answers into an art form. The same moving root appears in agent, agenda, and agile—words built around doing and movement—while ambi- turns up in ambidextrous, describing someone who can work on both sides. Remember ambiguous as language being driven in two directions at once: when the sentence cannot choose a lane, its Latin wheels are still turning.
The Story
Picture a Roman idea literally unable to settle down: something goes around, shifts sides, and refuses to point in one clear direction. Latin ambiguus grew from ambi- “around” plus agere, “to drive or move,” so its earliest image was not a foggy sentence but something wandering or wavering. English picked it up in the 1520s; Sir Thomas More was among the first writers to use it, long before politicians made carefully cloudy answers into an art form. The same moving root appears in agent, agenda, and agile—words built around doing and movement—while ambi- turns up in ambidextrous, describing someone who can work on both sides. Remember ambiguous as language being driven in two directions at once: when the sentence cannot choose a lane, its Latin wheels are still turning.
Modern Usage
Used informally for a person who avoids giving a clear answer or seems difficult to understand.
Kin & Kindred
From 'ambi-'·around, about, on both sides
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'agere'·to drive, move, act, or go about
Derived Terms
English words from this root