Etymology Explorer › Proto-Indo-European

Where does “ter-” come from?

ter- (Proto-Indo-European) comes from Italian termine, from Latin terminus, from Proto-Italic termenos, from Proto-Indo-European térmn̥ — boundary, end.

ter- (Proto-Indo-European): tender, weak; young creature

Definitions

  1. tender, weak; young creature

Ancestry of “ter-”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italiantermineend, close; limit, term, date, time; term, word
2Latinterminusa boundary, limit, end
3Proto-Italictermenos—
4Proto-Indo-Europeantérmn̥boundary, end

Words derived from “ter-”

  • terms
  • term
  • terrible
  • determination
  • terror
  • tremendous
  • terrorism
  • trembling
  • terminal
  • terrorist
  • drill
  • terribly
  • terminology
  • terminated
  • thrill
  • toast
  • terminate
  • tremble
  • torrent
  • drilling
  • deter
  • Thornton
  • thrilling
  • thorn
Every word from Proto-Indo-European térmn̥ →