Etymologically
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territo

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈtɛr.rɪ.toː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈtɛr.ri.to][1]

Forms

territō (present infinitive territāre, perfect active territāvī, supine territātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin terreō (“to frighten”) + -itō, a frequentative.[2][1] De Vaan traces terreō to Proto-Italic *tros-eje- (“to scare”) and Proto-Indo-European *tros-eie- (“to make scared”), comparing Ancient Greek τρέω (tréō, “to tremble, flee”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus has it first, in a question: why threaten him with death?[2][4]

Semantic evolution

It is to keep someone in fear, to try to scare: in Plautus a character says that he will not be scared by such words.[2][4] Of facts and conditions it means to strike lasting fear into someone.[2] Lewis & Short call it classical, though perhaps not used by Cicero.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of threats of death and of scaring words.[2][5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To try to scare, intimidate, threaten.[2][1]
  2. To frighten, terrify, alarm.[2][4][1]

Word family

  • conterrito
  • perterrito

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de