Tremendous
/trəˈmɛn.dəs/noun
Very great in amount, scale, or intensity.
Did you know?It comes from Latin *tremendus*, the gerundive of *tremere* (“to tremble”), so its oldest sense was literally “worthy of trembling before.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*drem-
“to tremble, shake”
Latin
Latin
tremere
“to tremble, quake”
Latin
Latin
tremendus
“to be trembled at; dreadful, awe-inspiring”
Late Latin / Medieval Latin
Latin
tremendus
“dreadful, formidable”
16th Century
English
tremendous
“causing fear or awe; dreadful”
Modern English
English
tremendous
“very great; extremely large or intense”
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