Trepidity
/trəˈpɪd.ɪ.ti/noun
A state of fear or trembling nervousness.
Did you know?Trepidity comes from Latin roots tied to trembling, and it shares ancestry with words for shivering and quake-like motion, making fear and physical shaking historically inseparable.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*trep-
“to tremble, turn, or twist”
Latin
Latin
trepidus
“alarmed, agitated, hurried, trembling”
Latin
Latin
trepiditas
“alarm, agitation, trembling fear”
Late Latin
Latin
trepiditās
“a state of alarm or fear”
14th–16th Century
English
trepidity
“fearful agitation; trembling anxiety”
Modern English
English
trepidity
“a state of fear or nervous trembling”
Explore more surprising origins