Etymologically
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perhorresco

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [pɛ.rɔrˈreːs.koː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [pe.rorˈrɛs.ko][1]

Forms

perhorrēscō (present infinitive perhorrēscere, perfect active perhorruī); third conjugation, no supine stem[1]

Etymology

The OLD and the TLL derive it from Latin per- + horrēscō (“to bristle, shudder”).[2][3] Wiktionary also allows a formation from perhorreō (“to tremble greatly”) with the inchoative suffix ⟨-scō⟩.[1] De Vaan traces horreō (“to bristle”) to Proto-Italic *χors-ē- (“to be stiff”) and Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰr̥s-eh₁- (“to be stiff, surprised”), comparing Sanskrit हर्षते (hárṣate, “to be delighted”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's quotations begin with Cicero, who says he is moved not only in mind but trembles with his whole body.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

In Cicero it is also transitive, to shrink in terror from something or to stand in awe of it: he asks whether a man does not dread the very portraits of his ancestors.[2] Ovid uses it of Etna shaking at a shout.[6] The TLL notes the medieval spelling ⟨perorr-⟩.[3]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of trembling and of dread.[2][5]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid of Etna shaking.[6][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To tremble or shudder greatly.[2][6][1]
  2. To recoil in terror from; to stand in awe of, dread.[2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press