torso

Where does the word "torso" come from? It comes from Greek thyrsos, passing through Latin and Italian before entering English (1700s).

Torso’s story begins in Greek: thyrsos meant “a stalk, staff.” A ceremonial staff, also used to mean a plant stalk. By ancient, the word had taken hold in Latin as thyrsus. The Bacchic staff crowned with a pine cone. From there it passed into Italian as torso by medieval. Came to mean a plant stump, then a statue's trunk without limbs or head. It reached English by 1700s as torso. Italian 'stalk'; the 'Belvedere Torso' sculpture in the Vatican gave the word its art sense. Today, torso means the trunk of the human body, excluding the head and limbs.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient thyrsos "a stalk, staff", a ceremonial staff, also used to mean a plant stalk.
2. Stage 2 · Latin · ancient thyrsus "a stalk", the Bacchic staff crowned with a pine cone.
3. Stage 3 · Italian · medieval torso "a stump; a statue's trunk", came to mean a plant stump, then a statue's trunk without limbs or head.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1700s torso "the trunk of the human body", Italian 'stalk'; the 'Belvedere Torso' sculpture in the Vatican gave the word its art sense.