Where does “terse” come from?
Terse comes from Latin tersus, the past participle of tergeo meaning to rub or wipe, from Proto-Indo-European terh₁- with the same sense.
terse (English): Of speech or style: brief, concise, to the point;...
Definitions
- Of speech or style: brief, concise, to the point;...
Ancestry of “terse”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | tersus | clean, neat, rubbed or wiped , cleansed, having... |
| 2 | Latin | tergo | Alternative form of tergeō; ablative singular of... |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | terh₁- | to rub, turn; to drill, pierce |
Words derived from “terse”