English
terrace
Terrace may come from Vulgar Latin terra ‘land’, from Proto-Italic *terzā ‘earth’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ters- ‘dry’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ters-1‘dry’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*terzā1‘earth’uncertain
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CEterra2‘land’uncertain
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*terrācea2uncertain
- Old Occitanc. 950–1500terrassa2uncertain
- Frenchc. 1600–presentterrasse2
- Englishearliest quotation 1892terrace2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin terra
- 2 Wiktionary, English terrace
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1892, John Woodward, George Burnett: “VAN GENNEP uses, Or, on a terrace vert a…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ters-Wiktionary, Latin terra‘dry’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*terzāWiktionary, Latin terra‘earth’uncertain
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CEterraWiktionary, English terrace‘land’uncertain
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*terrāceaWiktionary, English terraceuncertain
- Old Occitanc. 950–1500terrassaWiktionary, English terraceuncertain
- Frenchc. 1600–presentterrasseWiktionary, English terrace
- Englishearliest quotation 1892terraceWiktionary, English terrace. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1892, John Woodward, George Burnett: “VAN GENNEP uses, Or, on a terrace vert a…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ters- ‘dry’
test, toast, inter, thirst, torrent, terrestrial, torrid, terrine, 44 more
through Vulgar Latin terra ‘land’
territory, territorial, terrier, fossa, fosse, terroir, 18 more
Today it means
noun A flat open area on the topmost floor of a building or apartment
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “terrace”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin terra. 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 *ters- / terrace