terror

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Very strong fear.

   She froze in terror as the dog ran towards her.

2. 2
   noun

   The use of extreme violence and fear to force people to do something, especially for political reasons.

   The group used terror to silence anyone who opposed them.

3. 3
   noun

   A person, especially a child, who causes a lot of trouble.

   Their youngest son is a real terror at parties.

Simplified etymology

Terror entered English in the late Middle Ages and comes from Latin terrere “to frighten.” The Terror was the period of extreme repression and bloodshed during the French Revolution from about March 1793 to July 1794. Reign of terror was coined to describe this period, and terrorist was originally used of the Jacobins responsible for its repression and executions.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *tres- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Indo-European *troséyeti Proto-Italic *trozeō Latin terreō Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *-ōs Proto-Italic *-ōs Latin -or Latin terrorbor. Old French terreur Middle French terreurbor. Middle English terrour English terror From late Middle English terrour, from Old French terreur f (“terror, fear, dread”), from Latin terror m (“fright, fear, terror”), from terrēre (“to frighten, terrify”), from Old Latin tr̥reō, from Proto-Italic *trozeō, from Proto-Indo-…

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External links

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