Etymologically
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terror

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 12:32. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈtɛɹə/ (UK); /ˈtɛɹɚ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English terroure, borrowed from Old French terreur, terrour and directly borrowed from Latin terror (“great fear, dread”),[2][3][4] from terrēre (“to fill with fear, frighten”) (see terrible),[2][3][5] cognate with Ancient Greek τρέω (tréō, “to tremble, flee”) and Sanskrit त्रसति (trásati, “he trembles”).[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Great fear: about 1375 in Barnhart and the OED.[2][7] Etymonline's first sense, from the early 15th century, is something that intimidates, an object of fear.[3]

Semantic evolution

The quality of causing dread is from the 1520s.[3] King of terrors, death, is from 1611.[7] The Reign of Terror in France, from March 1793 to July 1794, when the ruling faction executed anyone in its way, has been so called in English since 1801;[3][5] the phrase came to be used of any brutal exercise of power.[5][7] A person who causes alarm, often a naughty child, is a humorous use from 1883.[3][7] Terror bombing is recorded by 1941, of the German attack on Rotterdam,[3] and terror as violence used for political ends, short for terrorism, is a modern sense.[8][9] Old English words for terror included broga and egesa.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1375 – intense fear.[2][7]
  • 1520s – the quality of causing dread.[3]
  • 1611 – the king of terrors.[7]
  • 1801 – the Reign of Terror.[3]
  • 1883 – a troublesome person.[3][7]
  • 1941 – terror bombing.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Intense, overpowering fear.
  2. A person or thing that causes great fear.
  3. Violence or threats used to intimidate a population for political ends; terrorism.
  4. (informal) A troublesome or annoying person, especially a child.

Word family

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins