Where does “terribly” come from?
Terribly comes from English terrible, from Latin terribilis meaning "causing fright," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots tre-, ter-, līg-, and ḱóm.
terribly (English): So as to cause terror or awe; Very; extremely;...
Definitions
- So as to cause terror or awe; Very; extremely;...
Ancestry of “terribly”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | terrible | Dreadful; causing terror, alarm and fear;... |
| 2 | Middle English | terrible | — |
| 3 | Old French | terrible | — |
| 4 | Latin | terribilis | frightful, dreadful, terrible, horrible |
| 5 | Latin | terreō | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | tres- | to tremble |
| 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 |