Where does “thriller” come from?
thriller (Czech) comes from English thriller, from English thrill, from English drill, from Middle Dutch drillen, from Old Dutch thrillen, from Proto-Germanic þriljaną, from Proto-Indo-European ter-, from Italian termine — boundary, end.
thriller (Czech): thriller
Ancestry of “thriller”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | thriller | Something that thrills; A suspenseful,... |
| 2 | English | thrill | To suddenly excite someone, or to give someone... |
| 3 | English | drill | To create by removing material with a drill; To... |
| 4 | Middle Dutch | drillen | bore, move in a circle |
| 5 | Old Dutch | thrillen | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | þriljaną | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ter- | tender, weak; young creature |
| 8 | Italian | termine | end, close; limit, term, date, time; term, word |
| 9 | Latin | terminus | a boundary, limit, end |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | termenos | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | térmn̥ | boundary, end |