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exhorresco

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word exhorresco

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin horreō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin horreo
Latin horresco
Latin exhorresco
From the same root
Latin horrifer ← horreo
Latin inhorresco ← horresco
Latin perhorresco ← horresco

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɛk.sɔrˈreːs.koː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [eɡ.zorˈrɛs.ko][1]

Forms

exhorrēscō (present infinitive exhorrēscere, perfect active exhorruī); third conjugation, no supine stem[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin ex- + horrēscō (“to begin to bristle, shudder”).[2][1] The TLL relates it to horreō (“to bristle, shudder”),[3] which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *χors-ē- (“to be stiff”) and Proto-Indo-European *ǵhrs-eh₁- (“to be stiff, surprised”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it from Cicero on.[3] In On Ends Cicero speaks of wisdom quae nōs exhorrēscere metū nōn sinat, which does not let us shudder with fear.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

It means to shudder or tremble greatly, with fear or dread,[2][6] and Ovid compares such a shudder to the sea trembling when a light breeze touches its surface.[5] Used transitively it means to shudder at: Virgil has vultūs nēve exhorrēscat amīcōs, “and let him not dread friendly faces”.[2][6] Suetonius uses it of shrinking from the title dominus.[7]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of shuddering with fear.[2][8]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it transitively.[2][8]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it in the Metamorphoses.[5][8]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius uses it of shrinking from a title.[7][8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (intransitive) To shudder, tremble greatly; to be terrified.[2][6]
  2. (transitive) To shudder at, dread.[2][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  8. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Exhorresco.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/exhorresco. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·