Torture
/ˈtɔːr.tʃər/noun
The act of inflicting severe pain or suffering on someone, or extreme physical or mental anguish.
Did you know?English torture comes through Old French from Latin torquere, meaning “to twist,” the same root behind torque and tormented—proof that language itself remembers pain as something bent out of shape.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*terkʷ-
“to twist, turn”
Latin
Latin
torquēre
“to twist, turn, wrench”
Late Latin
Latin
tortūra
“a twisting; wringing; torture”
Old French
Old French
torture
“torment, suffering; physical pain inflicted as punishment or interrogation”
Middle English
English
torture
“physical suffering; the infliction of severe pain”
Modern English
English
torture
“the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering”