terrific

[tuh-rif-ik] Origin

ter·rif·ic

[tuh-rif-ik]
adjective
1.
extraordinarily great or intense: terrific speed.
2.
extremely good; wonderful: a terrific vacation.
3.
causing terror; terrifying.

Origin:
1660–70; < Latin terrificus frightening, equivalent to terr(ēre) to frighten + -i- -i- + -ficus -fic

ter·rif·i·cal·ly, adverb
un·ter·rif·ic, adjective
un·ter·rif·i·cal·ly, adverb


1, 2. extraordinary, remarkable. 2. fine, excellent.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Terrific is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
Collins
World English Dictionary
terrific (təˈrɪfɪk)
 
adj
1.  very great or intense: a terrific noise
2.  informal very good; excellent: a terrific singer
3.  very frightening
 
[C17: from Latin terrificus, from terrēre to frighten; see -fic]
 
ter'rifically
 
adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

terrific
1667, "frightening," from L. terrificus "causing terror or fear," from terrere "fill with fear" (see terrible) + root of facere "to make" (see factitious). Weakened sensed of "very great, severe" (e.g. terrific headache) appeared 1809; colloquial sense of "excellent" began 1888.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

terrific definition


  1. mod.
    excellent. : Glad to hear it. That's just terrific.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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