# "I miss you terribly."  Etymologists: Why "terribly"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-you-terribly-etymologists-why-terribly/198238>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 28, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-you-terribly-etymologists-why-terribly/198238 "2003-08-28T17:29:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Standup\_Karmic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Standup\_Karmic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Standup_Karmic)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-you-terribly-etymologists-why-terribly/198238/1 "2003-08-28T17:29:57Z")

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“Terrible” can imply that one does something poorly. It can also be used to convey a sense of importance; that is, convey “extremely” or “very”. I’m wondering if any etymologists out there can explain why I can miss someone “terribly”. Shouldn’t I instead be missing someone “fantastically” or “terrifically”?

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-you-terribly-etymologists-why-terribly/198238/2 "2003-08-28T17:38:46Z")

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The OED attests the use of “terribly” as a general intensifier as early as 1604. The word has the same root as “terror,” so “terrible” apparently involved from something meaning “inspiring great fear” to the more general just “inspiring great [whatever].”

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**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-you-terribly-etymologists-why-terribly/198238/3 "2003-08-28T18:49:33Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> Shouldn’t I instead be missing someone “fantastically” or “terrifically”?

Well, “terrific” originally meant pretty much the same thing as “terrible”–both mean “inspiring great fear (terror)”. And “fantastic” comes from “fantasy”, and would originally have meant something more like “bizarre” or “otherworldly”, not just “very good” or "super keen"or whatever.

It’s pretty common for words in the English language to wind up being used as general intensifiers. (With “pretty” being another case in point, I suppose. Actually [pretty](http://www.bartleby.com/61/84/P0548400.html) has a rather tortuous etymology of its own.)

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**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-you-terribly-etymologists-why-terribly/198238/4 "2003-08-28T19:50:43Z")

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Yes. When you tell somebody she looks “terrific,” she no longer thinks you said she looks really scary. The language continues to change, as it always will. Someday, we might say, “thank you” when somebody says, “You look excruciating. Absolutely zam. Truly fetid.”

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**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-you-terribly-etymologists-why-terribly/198238/5 "2003-08-28T20:06:29Z")

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I am Oz, the Great and Terrible!