Where does “terrifying” come from?
Terrifying comes from Middle French terrifier, meaning to frighten or cause terror.
terrifying (English): Frightening or intimidating; Of a formidable...
Definitions
- Frightening or intimidating; Of a formidable...
Ancestry of “terrifying”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | terrify | To frighten greatly; to fill with terror; To... |
| 2 | Middle French | terrifier | — |
| 3 | Latin | terrificare | — |
| 4 | Latin | terror | a dread, terror, great fear, alarm, panic; an... |
| 5 | Latin | faciō | to do |
| 6 | Latin | -torium | nominative neuter singular of -tōrius; accusative... |
| 7 | Latin | -tōrius | ory |
| 8 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |