Where does “terrific” come from?
Terrific comes from French terrifique, meaning "causing terror," derived from Latin terrificus, meaning "frightening."
terrific (English): Terrifying, causing terror; terrible; sublime,...
Definitions
- Terrifying, causing terror; terrible; sublime,...
Ancestry of “terrific”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | terrifique | terrifying, frightening |
| 2 | Latin | terrificus | terrifying |
| 3 | Latin | terror | a dread, terror, great fear, alarm, panic; an... |
| 4 | Latin | faciō | to do |
| 5 | Latin | -torium | nominative neuter singular of -tōrius; accusative... |
| 6 | Latin | -tōrius | ory |
| 7 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |