English
torrid
Torrid comes from Latin torridus ‘dry, parched’, from Proto-Italic *torzeō ‘to burn, scorch’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ters- ‘dry’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ters-1‘dry’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*torséyeti1‘to make dry, to cause to dry’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*torzeō1‘to burn, scorch’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtorreō1‘parch, scorch’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtorridus1‘dry, parched’
- Englishearliest quotation 2005torrid1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English torrid
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2005, Annabelle du Fouet, The murky world from whence it all came: “It was left to the famed Greek philosopher, Plato,…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ters-Wiktionary, English torrid‘dry’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*torséyetiWiktionary, English torrid‘to make dry, to cause to dry’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*torzeōWiktionary, English torrid‘to burn, scorch’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtorreōWiktionary, English torrid‘parch, scorch’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtorridusWiktionary, English torrid‘dry, parched’
- Englishearliest quotation 2005torridWiktionary, English torrid. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2005, Annabelle du Fouet, The murky world from whence it all came: “It was left to the famed Greek philosopher, Plato,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ters- ‘dry’
inter, territory, terrain, terrace, thirst, territorial, terra, terrestrial, terrier, fossa, fosse, terroir, terrine, 39 more
through Proto-Italic *torzeō ‘to burn, scorch’
through Latin torreō ‘parch, scorch’
Today it means
adj Very hot and dry.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “torrid”. 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- / torrid