English
torrent
Torrent comes from French torrent ‘a torrent’, from Latin torrēns ‘burning, seething, roaring’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ters- ‘dry’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ters-‘dry’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*torséyeti‘to make dry, to cause to dry’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*torzeō‘to burn, scorch’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtorreōas torrēre‘to parch, scorch’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtorrēns‘burning, seething, roaring’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtorrentemaccusative of torrēns
- Italianc. 1300–presenttorrente‘stream, creek, torrent’
- Frenchc. 1600–presenttorrent‘a torrent’
- Englishearliest quotation 1667same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ters-‘dry’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*torséyeti‘to make dry, to cause to dry’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*torzeō‘to burn, scorch’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtorreōas torrēre‘to parch, scorch’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtorrēns‘burning, seething, roaring’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtorrentemaccusative of torrēns
- Italianc. 1300–presenttorrente‘stream, creek, torrent’
- Frenchc. 1600–presenttorrent‘a torrent’
- Englishearliest quotation 1667same form
Earliest quotation: 1667, John Milton, Book II: “Waves of torrent fire.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ters- ‘dry’
territory, inter, terrain, terrace, thirst, territorial, terra, terrestrial, terrier, fossa, fosse, terroir, terrine, 39 more
through Proto-Italic *torzeō ‘to burn, scorch’
through Latin torreō ‘to parch, scorch’
Today it means
noun A violent flow, as of water, lava, etc.; a stream suddenly raised and running rapidly, as down a precipice.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ters- / torrent