Where does “terrible” come from?
terrible (Middle English) comes from Old French terrible, from Latin terribilis, from Latin terreō, from Proto-Indo-European tres-, from Proto-Indo-European ter-, from Italian termine, from Latin terminus, from Proto-Italic termenos — boundary, end.
terrible (Middle English): terrible
Definitions
- terrible
Ancestry of “terrible”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | terrible | terrible |
| 2 | Latin | terribilis | frightful, dreadful, terrible, horrible |
| 3 | Latin | terreō | to frighten, terrify, alarm |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | tres- | to tremble |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ter- | tender, weak; young creature |
| 6 | Italian | termine | end, close; limit, term, date, time; term, word |
| 7 | Latin | terminus | a boundary, limit, end |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | termenos | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | térmn̥ | boundary, end |