rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryRoot: horrere
Latin

horrere

bristle, stand on end, or shudder

Forms

  • horrere
  • horr- — Used before other endings.

Origin

An inherited Latin word associated with roughness or raised bristles.

Note

Hair standing on end provided a physical image for fear or revulsion.

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An adult woman in a blue shirt recoils from an open kitchen trash can, pinching her nose with her face tightly scrunched in disgust. A rotten fish and slimy food scraps protrude from the bin, with three flies and thick green stink wisps above them. Plain background, bold expressions, and no lettering.
adjective

horrid

HOR-id/ˈhɔːrɪd/

Very unpleasant.

Etymology
horrLatinbristle, stand on end, or shudder
+idLatinhaving a quality or being in a state

The bristling root was once quite literal: horrid first meant hairy, shaggy, or bristling in English. It later meant causing horror, then weakened to unpleasant or offensive.

Full entry

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