terse

See also: tersé

English
WOTD – 16 May 2019

Etymology

From Latin tersus (“clean, cleansed, rubbed or wiped off; neat, spruce; terse”), perfect passive participle of tergō, tergeō (“to clean, cleanse, rub, wipe, wipe off”),[1] from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to rub; to turn”).

Pronunciation
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /tɜːs/
  • (Canada, US) IPA(key): /tɝːs/
  • Audio (AU)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)s

Adjective

terse (comparative terser, superlative tersest)

  1. (obsolete) Burnished, polished; fine, smooth; neat, spruce. [from early 17th c.]
  2. (by extension) Of speech or style: brief, concise, to the point.
    Synonyms: concise, succinct, see also Thesaurus:concise
    Antonyms: prolix, verbose, wordy, see also Thesaurus:verbose
    • 2012 June 4, Lewis Smith, “Queen’s English Society says enuf is enough, innit?: Society formed 40 years ago to protect language against poor spelling and grammar closes because too few people care”, in The Guardian‎, London, archived from the original on 10 March 2016:
      Having attempted to identify a role for the society and its magazine, Quest, "for the next 40 years", the society chairman, Rhea Williams, decided it was time to close. She announced the group's demise in a terse message to members following the annual meeting, which just 22 people attended.
  3. (by extension) Of manner or speech: abruptly or brusquely short; curt.
    Synonyms: abrupt, brusque, mardy (dialectal), short-spoken

Derived terms

Translations
brief, concise, to the point — See also translations at brief,‎ concise

References
  1. Compare “terse, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1911; “terse” (US) / “terse” (UK) in Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford University Press.

Further reading

Anagrams

French

Pronunciation

Verb

terse

  1. first-person singular present indicative of terser
  2. third-person singular present indicative of terser
  3. first-person singular present subjunctive of terser
  4. first-person singular present subjunctive of terser
  5. second-person singular imperative of terser

Anagrams

Italian

Verb

terse

  1. third-person singular past historic of tergere

Participle

terse f pl

  1. feminine plural of terso

Adjective

terse

  1. Feminine plural of adjective terso.

Anagrams

Latin

Participle

terse

  1. vocative masculine singular of tersus

Venetian

Adjective

terse f pl

  1. feminine plural of terso
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.