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Where does the word "excruciating" come from? It comes from Latin excruciare, and was adopted directly into English (1560s).
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Where does the word "excruciating" come from? It comes from Latin excruciare, and was adopted directly into English (1560s).
Excruciating’s story begins in Latin: excruciare meant “to torture, to crucify.” Literally to torment from the cross, from ex- (out of) and crux (cross). It reached English by 1560s as excruciating. Settled as the English word for intensely painful suffering. Today, excruciating means intensely painful, causing extreme suffering.
- Stage 1 · Latin · ancient excruciare "to torture, to crucify", literally to torment from the cross, from ex- (out of) and crux (cross).
- Stage 2 · English · 1560s excruciating "intensely painful", settled as the English word for intensely painful suffering.