Both Uses of
loathe
in
The Odyssey, by Homer - (translated by: Butler)
- I cannot even think of him without loathing both food and sleep, so miserable does he make me, for no one of all the Achaeans worked so hard or risked so much as he did.†
Book 4 *loathing = disgust or intense dislike
- I will begin by disguising you so that no human being shall know you; I will cover your body with wrinkles; you shall lose all your yellow hair; I will clothe you in a garment that shall fill all who see it with loathing; I will blear your fine eyes for you, and make you an unseemly object in the sight of the suitors, of your wife, and of the son whom you left behind you.†
Book 13
Definition:
hate, detest, or intensely dislike
Word Confusion: Do not confuse loathe with loath which sounds very similar or the same. Loathe is a verb while loath is an adjective describing "reluctance or unwillingness to do something." Note that loathing and loathsome are forms of the verb loathe even though both word forms lack the "e". Occasionally, you will see loath spelled as loathe even in a published book, but it is rare enough that it is generally considered an error rather than a non-standard spelling.