| Word of the
Week--"terrific" |
Definition--terrifying or frightful
or colloquially marvelous, excellent, or intense.
|
| Discussion--Few words are antonyms
unto themselves. Terrific is one. Its original meaning reflects its
Latin roots. Terrific is an adjectival form of terror. Hence the
usage: "The earthquake was a terrific disaster." More frequently today we
would say: "The earthquake was terrifying."
In the 1800s and 1900s, terrific took on the opposite meaning of
terrify. Hence the usage: "Grace is a terrific cook!" Presumably, rather
than causing terror, the previous sentence means that Grace is a marvelous
cook whose food we would all enjoy.
Vestiges of the old meaning are seen in phrases such as: "Carl has a
terrific headache." From Carl's point of view, the headache is probably
neither marvelous nor terrifying, though the meaning is much closer to
original meaning of causing terror.
|
| Etymology--The term terrific
is borrowed the Latin terrificus, meaning causing terror or fear.
The root is the Latin terrere, meaning to fill with fear.
The languages below lack a direct corollary to the English usage of
terrific to mean marvelous or excellent. |
Foreign Translations
for Terrific
| German: |
hervorragend |
| Dutch: |
geweldig |
| French: |
fantastique |
| Italian: |
formidabile |
| Spanish: |
genial, estupendo, de muerte |
|
| The Romance languages below show the Latin
roots of the meaning to cause terror. |
Foreign Translations
for Terrify
| German: |
Angst und Schrecken einjagen |
| Dutch: |
schrik aanjagen |
| French: |
terrifier |
| Italian: |
terrorizzare |
| Spanish: |
aterrorizar,
aterrar | |
