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terebro

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word terebro

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin terō

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈtɛ.rɛ.broː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈtɛː.re.bro][1]

Forms

terebrō (present infinitive terebrāre, perfect active terebrāvī, supine terebrātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin terebra (“drill”) + -ō, a verb formed from the noun.[2][1] That noun is formed from terō (“to rub”) with the instrument suffix ⟨-bra⟩;[2][1] de Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *terasro- (“drill”) for it, and he traces the verb to Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to rub”).[3] Cognate with Ancient Greek τέρετρον (téretron, “drill”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan records it from Plautus on,[3] who uses it figuratively: ut terebrat!, “how she bores into me!”, that is, how she coaxes.[4][5][6]

Semantic evolution

It means to drill a hole in or bore through, strictly with a terebra.[2] Cato and Columella use it of boring vines,[4][5] Virgil of piercing the hollows of a belly and of putting out an eye with a sharp weapon, and Ovid of boxwood pierced with holes.[4][5] Pliny the Elder says the cricket bores into the earth, and Vitruvius bores a gem.[4] Persius has digito terebrare salinum, boring out the salt-cellar with a finger, to scrape up the last grain.[4][5] It also means to make a hole by drilling, as in Vitruvius and Martial.[2] English took it over as terebrate in the 17th century.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of coaxing someone.[4][3][8]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of boring a vine.[4][8]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of piercing and of putting out an eye.[4][5][8]
  • 34–62 AD – Persius uses it of a salt-cellar bored out with a finger.[4][8]
  • 1620s – English borrows it as terebrate.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To bore through, drill a hole in, perforate.[2][4][6]
  2. To make (a hole) by drilling.[2][4]
  3. (figurative) To worm one's way in, coax.[4][5][6]

Word family

  • conterebro
  • exterebrō
  • perterebrō
  • terebramen
  • terebrātiō
  • terebrātus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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 c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Terebro.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/terebro. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·