terroriser

Forms

terroriser^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French terreur + -iser, after the form of Latin terror (“terror”), its etymon.^[2][3][1] Bloch and Wartburg derive it from the noun as the name of a period of the Revolution (1793–1794).^[4] It displaced the slightly older terrorifier (1793), which had the same political sense.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1796 in Le Néologiste français, used intransitively of the Revolutionary period: “to set up the regime of the Terror”, said to have been the work of the Jacobins and of Robespierre.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The verb began as a political term of the Revolution, “to rule or strike by means of terror”, and was used transitively by 1823 (Boiste).^[2][5] Balzac still glosses it as a word of the time.^[3]

The general sense “to fill with terror, frighten badly” is found in Amiel's journal in 1866 and was recorded by Larousse in 1876; it became the usual one, and the political use has fallen out of use.^[2][3][5] Clemenceau used it intransitively for “to spread terror” in 1899.^[2] The adjective terrorisant is recorded only in the 20th century.^[5]

Timeline

• 1796 – Terroriser is recorded in Le Néologiste français, of the regime of the Terror.^[2][3]
• 1823 – Boiste records it as a transitive verb.^[2]
• 1847 – Michelet uses it intransitively, of the Jacobins.^[3]
• 1866 – Amiel uses it for “to strike with terror”.^[2][7]
• 1876 – Larousse records the general sense “to frighten”.^[3][5]
• 1899 – Clemenceau uses it for “to spread terror”.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. (history) To subject to the Terror, the exceptional measures of the Revolutionary government; by extension, to rule by a regime of terror.^[2][7][3]
2. To terrify, to fill with great fear; to keep someone living under threat: le gang terrorisait tout le quartier.^[2][7][1]
3. Être terrorisé: to be paralysed by fear (of someone).^[7]

Related words

• terreur
• terrorisme
• terroriste
• terrifier
• terrible
• Latin terror

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert