Terror
/ˈtɛr.ər/noun
Intense fear or dread.
Did you know?The Latin root terrere meant “to frighten” or “to make tremble,” and it also gave English words like deterrent and terrific, which once meant “causing terror,” not “awesome.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ters-
“to dry up; to be frightened; to tremble”
Latin
Latin
terrēre
“to frighten; to alarm; to make tremble”
Latin
Latin
terror
“great fear; dread; alarm”
Old French
OFr
terror
“great fear; terror”
Middle English
English
terror
“great fear; dread”
Modern English
English
terror
“intense fear or dread”