From PIE *keh₂d- (sorrow, hatred) — a word whose emotional intensity has remained unchanged across four millennia.
To feel intense or passionate dislike for someone or something.
From Old English 'hatian' meaning 'to hate, treat as an enemy,' from Proto-Germanic *hatōną (to hate), from PIE root *keh₂d- meaning 'sorrow, hatred.' The word has maintained a remarkably stable meaning across four thousand years — from the Proto-Indo-European expression of grief and hostility through Germanic and into modern English, hate has always been about intense aversion. Unlike many emotion words that softened or shifted over time, hate never diluted. Key roots: *keh₂d- (Proto-Indo-European: "sorrow, hatred").