Terrour

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An overwhelming state of fright or dread that grips the mind ; a person or thing that inspires fear, or an unruly and troublesome individual
2. Extreme alarm and dread that overtakes a person completely ; someone or something that frightens others, or a badly behaved child
3. A feeling of paralyzing fear and panic ; a dreaded individual or object that provokes fright, sometimes a mischievous youngster

Etymology: Terrour is simply the older spelling of terror, the form English used in the late Middle Ages before the Latin-influenced "-or" ending was standardised. The word arrived in English from Old French "terreur", which itself came from Latin "terror", meaning fright or fear. That Latin noun is built from "terrēre", "to frighten", a verb that goes back to a much older root meaning "to shake" or "to tremble". So the word's deepest sense is physical: the shaking of a body struck by fear, which the Latin speakers captured in the noun itself.