Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “tragic” come from?

Tragic comes from Ancient Greek τραγικός, derived from τράγος meaning goat, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root terh₁- meaning to rub or wear away.

tragic (English): Causing great sadness or suffering; Relating to...

Definitions

  1. Causing great sadness or suffering; Relating to...

Ancestry of “tragic”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchtragiquetragic
2Latintragicustragic; Relating to tragedy or to a tragic drama;...
3Ancient Greekτραγικόςof or relating to tragedy; tragikos
4Ancient Greek-ικόςof or pertaining to, in the manner of; -ic
5Ancient Greek-κόςforms adjectives with the sense of 'of or...
6Proto-Indo-European-ḱos-y, -ic

Words derived from “tragic”

  • tragically
  • untragic
  • nontragic
  • tragicness
  • semitragic
  • untragically
  • tragicize
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos →