Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “terrifyingly” come from?

Terrifyingly derives from English terrify, from Middle French terrifier, from Proto-Germanic galīkaz meaning "fearsome," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning "to shake" or "tremble."

terrifyingly (English): In a terrifying manner

Definitions

  1. In a terrifying manner

Ancestry of “terrifyingly”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishterrifyingFrightening or intimidating; Of a formidable...
2EnglishterrifyTo frighten greatly; to fill with terror; To...
3Middle Frenchterrifier—
4Latinterrificare—
5Latinterrora dread, terror, great fear, alarm, panic; an...
6Latinfaciō—
7Latin-toriumnominative neuter singular of -tōrius; accusative...
8Latin-tōrius—
9Latin-tor-er
10Proto-Italic-tōr—
11Proto-Indo-European-tōrDerives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...
12Proto-Indo-European-tor-s—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tor-s →