Timid

How to spell timid

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce timid

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does timid mean?

1. adjectiveLacking in courage or confidence; easily frightened or hesitant.

Timid in a sentence

• The new recruit was too timid to ask for a pay rise.

• A timid knock at the door suggested the visitor was nervous.

Where does timid come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin timidus, meaning 'fearful' or 'easily frightened', which was built on the verb timere, 'to fear or be afraid'. English adopted it in the middle of the 1500s, partly through French timide, keeping the sense of someone who lacks boldness or shrinks from risk. The same timere root sits inside the everyday word 'timorous' and the noun 'intimidate', which literally means to fill someone with fear. The -id ending here is the same adjective-forming pattern seen in words like 'vivid', 'rigid', and 'lucid', each describing a settled quality. Because the spelling is short and phonetic, the only real care a writer needs is the single m and the closing -id rather than -ed.

How the word is built

• tim- (from Latin timere: to fear)
• -id (adjective suffix forming a quality)