Etymologically
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terrorist

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 03:56. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈtʰɛɹəɹɪst/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French terroriste,[2][3][4] from Latin terror and -iste (see terror and -ist).[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A Jacobin or supporter of the Jacobins in the French Revolution, who used repression and violence: 1795 in the OED and Etymonline, while MWU has 1794.[5][2][6][3] It thus first meant state intimidation and government coercion by terror.[2]

Semantic evolution

Someone who tries to spread alarm, in a disparaging sense, is from 1803.[5] In politics it was used in 1819 of one who gained office by intimidating voters, and in the 19th century of insurrectionists in Hungary, Spain and Ireland and of labour unrest.[2] Any person who tries to further their views by coercive intimidation is from 1866, first of revolutionaries in Russia trying to demoralize the Tsarist government.[5][2] By 1921 it was used of Soviet government policies, and in the Second World War of the Maquis in French newspapers.[2] Terroristic is from 1850.[5]

Timeline

  • 1795 – a Jacobin.[5]
  • 1803 – an alarmist.[5]
  • 1819 – one who wins office by intimidation.[2]
  • 1850 – terroristic.[5]
  • 1866 – a revolutionary using terror.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person who uses violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, for political ends.

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to terrorism.

Word family

  • terroristic
  • antiterrorist

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press