Etymologically
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terribile

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Pronunciation

  • /terˈri.bi.le/[1]

Forms

terribile m or f by sense (plural terribili)[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin terribilis (“frightening”), from terreō (“to frighten, terrify”) with the suffix -bilis.[2][3][4][1][5] The Latin adjective is found from Ennius on.[6][7] The same word is French terrible, recorded from the 12th century, and Spanish terrible.[3][7][8] Sicilian tirribìliu “turmoil, commotion” and its Abruzzese counterpart are semi-learned outcomes of the Latin neuter plural terribilia (“terrible things”), which DEI also sees behind strabiliare.[7]

DELI and Devoto connect terreō with a root meaning “to tremble”, as in terrore and tremare.[2][9] De Vaan follows the LIV in reconstructing Proto-Italic *troseje- and Proto-Indo-European *tros-éye- (“to make afraid”), with a regular development in Latin, and relates it to Ancient Greek τρέω (tréō, “to tremble, flee”).[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Zingarelli dates the first record to 1268 and GRADIT to 1295.[10][4] Bono Giamboni describes a huge black-armed knight as terrìbole a vedere “terrible to see”, and Dante (1300–1313) sees in a ditch of Hell terribile stipa / di serpenti “a terrible throng of serpents”, in the sense “causing terror”.[11][2]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian had the forms terìbele, terrìbele, terrìbere and terrìbole.[11] The sense “too severe, pitiless” is recorded in the 14th-century Italian translation of Gregory the Great, and the noun terribilità, from Late Latin terribilitas, in the 14th century.[2][3] In 1560 Vasari uses the word in a positive sense, for what is remarkable or extraordinary, and Tommaseo–Bellini (1879) has the hyperbolic sense “very strong, excessive”.[2]

Today it is also used jokingly of a lively, unruly child, and hyperbolically of any discomfort, as in un freddo terribile “terrible cold”.[4][12][13]

Timeline

  • 1268 – First record.[10]
  • 1300–1313 – Dante uses terribile “causing terror”.[2]
  • 14th century – The sense “too severe, pitiless”, in the translation of Gregory the Great.[2]
  • 14th century – Terribilità is first recorded.[3]
  • 1560 – Vasari uses it of what is extraordinary, in a positive sense.[2]
  • 1879 – Tommaseo–Bellini records the sense “very strong, excessive”.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Causing terror or great fear; of devastating strength: Nella notte si sentì un urlo terribile.[4][12][13][1]
  2. Causing anguish or distress: Sono state settimane terribili per tutta la famiglia.[4][12][14]
  3. Of a person, pitiless, cruel; very severe: Il nuovo allenatore è terribile con chi arriva tardi.[4][12][13]
  4. (jocular) Of a child, very lively and unruly: Quel bambino è terribile, non sta fermo un minuto.[4][12][13]
  5. (hyperbolic) Very intense, said especially of something unpleasant; awful, dreadful: Mi sono svegliato con un terribile mal di gola.[4][12][14][1]
  6. Extraordinary, exceptional, of a positive quality: Quella ragazza ha una grinta terribile.[4][12][10]

Word family

  • terribilità
  • terribilmente
  • terribilezza

Usage notes

A different and now obsolete terribile was a popular alteration of turibolo “thurible, censer”, used in the 14th century.[15][7][16] Franco Sacchetti tells of a cleric who is asked by a cardinal what a terribilis is and, frightened by such a terrible name, cannot answer.[15][16]

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 Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  7. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3766
  8. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  9. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  10. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  11. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 20, 956
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  13. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  14. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  15. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 20, 957
  16. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET