scandalous

Origin

From Late Middle English scandalouse (“disgraceful, shameful”), borrowed from Old French scandaleux (“scandalous”) (modern French scandaleux), from Medieval Latin scandalōsus, from Ecclesiastical Latin scandalum (“scandal”) + Latin -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of; prone to’ forming adjectives). Scandalum is derived from Ancient Greek σκᾰ́νδᾰλον (skắndălon, “offence, scandal; snare, trap”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Pre-Greek or Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to jump”) (referring to a device for climbing or jumping on, such as might be used by someone setting a trap).