Etymograph

English

terrorism

Terrorism comes from French terreur ‘terror’, from Latin terreō ‘to frighten, terrify, alarm’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tres- ‘to tremble (with fear)’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tres-1‘to tremble (with fear)’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*troséyeti1‘to make scared, afraid’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*trozeō1‘to frighten, scare, terrify’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterreō1‘to frighten, terrify, alarm’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterror1‘a dread, terror, great fear, alarm, panic’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400terreur1‘terror’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600terreur1‘terror’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentterreur1‘terror’
  9. Frenchc. 1600–presentterrorisme1
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1795terrorism1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English terrorism
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1795, Thomas Paine: “In England I was proscribed for having vindicated the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tres-Wiktionary, English terrorism‘to tremble (with fear)’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*troséyetiWiktionary, English terrorism‘to make scared, afraid’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*trozeōWiktionary, English terrorism‘to frighten, scare, terrify’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterreōWiktionary, English terrorism‘to frighten, terrify, alarm’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterrorWiktionary, English terrorism‘a dread, terror, great fear, alarm, panic’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400terreurWiktionary, English terrorism‘terror’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600terreurWiktionary, English terrorism‘terror’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentterreurWiktionary, English terrorism‘terror’
  9. Frenchc. 1600–presentterrorismeWiktionary, English terrorism
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1795terrorismWiktionary, English terrorism. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1795, Thomas Paine: “In England I was proscribed for having vindicated the…”

first attested The word first appears in English in 1795 in reference to the Jacobin radicals of France, who ruled during the Reign of Terror (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

The word first appears in English in 1795 in reference to the Jacobin radicals of France, who ruled during the Reign of Terror.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Latin terreō ‘to frighten, terrify, alarm’

terrible, terribly, terrific, 5 more

Today it means

noun The system of fear and intimidation put into place during the Reign of Terror in Revolutionary France around 1793-94.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “terrorism”. 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 *tres- / terrorism

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