Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “threat” come from?

Threat comes from Middle English threten, from Old English þrēat, from Proto-Germanic þrautaz.

threat (English): An expression of intent to injure or punish...

Definitions

  1. An expression of intent to injure or punish...

Ancestry of “threat”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishthrete—
2Old Englishþrēatcrowd, swarm, troop, army, press; pressure,...
3Proto-Germanicþrautaz—
4Proto-Indo-Europeantrewd-to push, to thrust

Words derived from “threat”

  • biothreat
  • threatful
  • counterthreat
  • nonthreat
  • cyberthreat
  • threatless
  • threatest
  • threatfulness
  • threatscape
  • threatsome
  • threatfully
Every word from Proto-Indo-European trewd- →