The terms terrible and terrific have an interesting connection! The word terrible was borrowed from Old French in the fifteenth century, which in turn was borrowed from Latin terribilis in the twelfth century, meaning “frightful”. This Latin word stems from the verb terrere, which, like its descendant terrify, meant “to fill with fear” and can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European root ter, meaning “weak”. On the other hand, terrific also originates from terrere, through Latin terrificus, which had a similar meaning to terribilis. Initially, up until the late seventeenth century, terrific meant “frightening” as well, but over time it evolved to be used as an adjective for “great”, leading to its current positive connotations. This transformation has given rise to the interesting contrast in meanings that we observe today.
