Etymograph

English

petrific

Petrific comes from Latin petrificus ‘turning into stone, petrific, petrifactive’, from Ancient Greek πέτρα ‘rock’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to go through, fare’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-1‘to go through, fare’uncertain
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπέτρα2‘rock’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpetra3‘rock, stone’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpetrificus3‘turning into stone, petrific, petrifactive’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1667petrific3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πέτρα, which cites Beekes
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin petra
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English petrific
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Milton, Book IX: “Death with his mace petrific, cold and dry.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πέτρα, which cites Beekes‘to go through, fare’uncertain
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπέτραWiktionary, Latin petra‘rock’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpetraWiktionary, English petrific‘rock, stone’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpetrificusWiktionary, English petrific‘turning into stone, petrific, petrifactive’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1667petrificWiktionary, English petrific. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Milton, Book IX: “Death with his mace petrific, cold and dry.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to go through, fare’

before, first, support, far, report, further, per, press, private, fear, opportunity, pre, practice, price, appreciate, port, primary, prior, prime, afford, pregnant, ford, forth, prize, precious, practical, praise, parade, par, interpretation, privilege, ferry, pirate, fare, porch, pardon, primitive, prix, proton, interpreter, 154 more

through Latin petra ‘rock, stone’

petra, piedra, 6 more

Today it means

adj Petrifying, turning into stone; petrifactive.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “petrific”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek πέτρα, Latin petra. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *per- / petrific

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