English
tragic
Tragic comes from Ancient Greek τραγικός ‘of or relating to tragedy’, from τράγος ‘male goat’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- ‘to rub, turn’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-‘to rub, turn’root as named
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτράγω‘to gnaw, nibble’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEτράγοςtrágos‘male goat’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEτραγικόςtragikós‘of or relating to tragedy’
- Englishearliest quotation 2011tragic
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-‘to rub, turn’root as named
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτράγω‘to gnaw, nibble’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEτράγοςtrágos‘male goat’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEτραγικόςtragikós‘of or relating to tragedy’
- Englishearliest quotation 2011tragic
Earliest quotation: 2011, James Macsmith, General Russell Crowe and his Rabbitoh minions: “Within the club itself, Crowe is regarded not only…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- ‘to rub, turn’
turn, throw, tournament, thread, threshold, trout, detrimental, tyrone, detour, tourney, detriment, attrition, thrash, termite, tribulation, tourniquet, trite, detritus, triage, thresher, tyro, thresh, truant, derma, 41 more
Today it means
adj Causing great sadness or suffering.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- / tragic