To strongly dislike or hate something with intense feeling; to regard with disgust or severe disapproval.
From Latin 'detestari,' combining 'de-' (completely) and 'testari' (to curse, from 'testis'). The word originally meant 'to curse solemnly' and evolved to mean 'to hate intensely.'
The Latin root 'testis' also gives us 'testimony' and 'attest,' so when you detest something, you're literally 'cursing it against'—the legal and emotional meanings of 'testis' (witness/testify) came from invoking gods as witnesses to a curse.
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