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LATIN · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

tergeo.

to rub, wipe, wipe off, clean, cleanse

6 characters2 syllables approx.Latina language

Meaning & usage

verb[ˈtɛr.ɡe.oː]Classical-Latin[ˈtɛr.d͡ʒe.o]
  1. to rub, wipe, wipe off, clean, cleanse

    conjugation-2 · transitive
  2. to polish, burnish

    conjugation-2 · transitive
  3. to tickle, whet

    conjugation-2 · transitive
  4. to molest, harass

    conjugation-2 · figuratively · transitive
  5. to expiate the murder

    conjugation-2 · figuratively · transitive
Where this word comes from

Uncertain. Within Italic, the term may connect to Latin mantēle and Umbrian 𐌌𐌀𐌍𐌕𐌓𐌀𐌊𐌋𐌖 (mantraklu). It perhaps further derives from Proto-Indo-European *(s)terǵʰ- (“crush”), whence possibly Sanskrit तृह् (tṛh, “to crush, bruise”). However, the LIV alternatively takes tergō as the original form, though De Vaan notes that the variant tergeō was much more common even in compounds. Regardless, the LIV tentatively derives tergō from a simple thematic present of a Proto-Indo-European root of the shape *terg- or *terǵ-.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.