Where does “excruciating” come from?
Excruciating comes from Latin excruciāre, meaning to torture, formed from ex- (out) and crux (cross), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European sek- (to cut).
excruciating (English): Causing great pain or anguish, agonizing;...
Definitions
- Causing great pain or anguish, agonizing;...
Ancestry of “excruciating”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | excruciate | To inflict intense pain or mental distress on ;... |
| 2 | Latin | excruciātus | — |
| 3 | Latin | excruciō | — |
| 4 | Latin | cruciō | — |
| 5 | Latin | crux | wooden frame on which criminals were crucified,... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | *kruks | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sḱer- | to caw, crow |
Words derived from “excruciating”