terebrant

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*terh₁-“to drill, pierce; to rub; to turn”
2. Latin · learned borrowing fromterebrantem
3. English todayterebrant

The adjective is a learned borrowing from Latin terebrantem, the accusative masculine or feminine singular of terebrāns, the present active participle of terebrō (“to bore through, perforate, pierce”), from terebra (“instrument for boring, borer, gimlet”) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs). Terebra is derived from ter(ō) (“to rub; to wear away”) (from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to drill, pierce; to rub; to turn”)) + -bra (suffix denoting an instrument, forming nouns). The noun is either derived from the adjective, or is a back-formation from Terebrantia (“suborder of thrips”).

Words from the same roots