Etymograph

English

petrify

Petrify comes from Latin petra ‘rock’, and goes back to Ancient Greek πέτρα.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπέτραpétra‘rock’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpetra‘rock’
  3. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500petrificāre
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600pétrifier
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1685petrify

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπέτραpétra‘rock’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpetra‘rock’
  3. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500petrificāre
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600pétrifier
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1685petrify

Earliest quotation: 1685, John Dryden: “Like Niobe we marble grow, / And petrify with…”

Formed from petro + ify

Koine Greek Πέτρος

English petro

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to go through, fare’

first, before, support, far, report, further, press, per, practice, price, private, fear, opportunity, pre, appreciate, port, primary, prior, afford, prime, pregnant, ford, practical, forth, prize, precious, praise, parade, par, interpretation, privilege, ferry, pirate, fare, porch, pardon, primitive, prix, pragmatic, proton, 156 more

through Latin petra ‘rock’

petra, piedra, 7 more

Today it means

verb To turn to stone: to harden organic matter by permeating with water and depositing dissolved minerals.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Ancient Greek πέτρα / petrify

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