Etymograph

English

tribulation

Tribulation comes from Old French tribulacion ‘problem’, from Late Latin trībulātiō ‘distress, trouble, tribulation, affliction’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- ‘to rub, rub by twisting, twist, turn’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-‘to rub, rub by twisting, twist, turn’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterōas terēre‘to rub’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrībulum‘a sledge consisting of a wooden block studded with sharp pieces of flint or with iron…’
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtribulāre‘to press, probably also thresh out grain’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEtrībulātiō‘distress, trouble, tribulation, affliction’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400tribulacion‘problem’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tribulation
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1534tribulation

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-‘to rub, rub by twisting, twist, turn’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterōas terēre‘to rub’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrībulum‘a sledge consisting of a wooden block studded with sharp pieces of flint or with iron…’
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtribulāre‘to press, probably also thresh out grain’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEtrībulātiō‘distress, trouble, tribulation, affliction’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400tribulacion‘problem’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tribulation
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1534tribulation

Earliest quotation: 1534, Thomas More, Made by Syr Thomas More Knyght: “What wit have we (poor fools) to wit what…”

The story

From Middle English tribulation, from Old French tribulacion, from Late Latin trībulātiō (‘distress, trouble, tribulation, affliction’), from Latin tribulāre (‘to press, probably also thresh out grain’), from trībulum (‘a sledge consisting of a wooden block studded with sharp pieces of flint or with iron teeth, used for threshing grain’), from terēre (‘to rub’); see trite.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- ‘to rub, rub by twisting, twist, turn’

turn, throw, tournament, thread, threshold, tragic, trout, detour, tyrone, thrash, tourney, termite, triage, tourniquet, thresher, truant, tyro, thresh, derma, contrite, 40 more

through Latin terō ‘to rub’

detrimental, detriment, trite, detritus, attrition, 8 more

Today it means

noun Any adversity; a trying period or event.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- / tribulation

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