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Where does the word "torrent" come from? It comes from Latin torrens, and was adopted directly into English (1600s).
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Where does the word "torrent" come from? It comes from Latin torrens, and was adopted directly into English (1600s).
Torrent’s story begins in Latin: torrens meant “boiling, rushing.” Boiling, roaring, from torrere (to parch, to burn). It reached English by 1600s as torrent. Settled as the English word for a fast-moving, turbulent stream. Today, torrent means a fast-moving, turbulent stream of liquid, or a forceful outpouring.
- Stage 1 · Latin · ancient torrens "boiling, rushing", boiling, roaring, from torrere (to parch, to burn).
- Stage 2 · English · 1600s torrent "a fast-moving, turbulent stream of liquid", settled as the English word for a fast-moving, turbulent stream.