Where does “terror-stricken” come from?
terror-stricken (English) comes from English Terror, from Middle English terrour, from Middle French terreur, from Old French terreur, from Latin terror, from Latin faciō, from Latin -torium, from Latin -tōrius.
Ancestry of “terror-stricken”, step by step
terror-stricken traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Terror
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Terror | The Reign of Terror during the French Revolution |
| 2 | Middle English | terrour | A terror; a fright |
| 3 | Middle French | terreur | terror |
| 4 | Old French | terreur | terror |
| 5 | Latin | terror | a dread, terror, great fear, alarm, panic; an... |
| 6 | Latin | faciō | to do |
| 7 | Latin | -torium | nominative neuter singular of -tōrius; accusative... |
| 8 | Latin | -tōrius | ory |
| 9 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |
via English stricken
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | stricken | Struck by something; Disabled or incapacitated by... |
| 2 | Middle English | striken | — |
| 3 | Old English | stricen | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | strikanaz | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | strīkaną | to stroke, to rub |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | streyg- | to strike; to shear |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)ter- | strong, firm, stiff, rigid; rigid, stiff; to... |