scandalous

the word "scandalous" has a journey rooted in the concept of a trap or stumbling block. its core, "scandal," entered english from old french scandale, which itself derived from ecclesiastical latin scandalum. this latin term was a borrowing from greek skandalon, originally referring to a trap or snare. in biblical greek, skandalon evolved metaphorically to mean a cause of moral stumbling or offense. the english adjective-forming suffix "-ous," of latin origin via french, was attached to create "scandalous," literally meaning "full of offense" or "characterized by causing outrage." thus, the modern sense describing something shockingly disgraceful retains this ancient logic of being a figurative trap that causes public moral downfall.

Structure: scandal (cause of outrage) + ous (adjective-forming suffix) scandal (from latin scandalum, meaning "stumbling block, cause of offense," via greek skandalon); ous (from latin -osus, a suffix forming adjectives meaning "full of, characterized by").