TERSE
What does "TERSE" mean?
Brief and to the point, often to the point of seeming abrupt or curt.
Meanings
- Using few words; concise and economical, sometimes brusquely so. His terse reply made it clear the meeting was over.
Did you know?
- TERSE comes from Latin 'tersus', meaning 'wiped clean' or 'polished' - so its original English sense was elegant smoothness, and only later did it come to mean 'short to the point of being curt.'
Word origin
From Latin 'tersus' meaning polished or wiped clean, past participle of 'tergēre' (to wipe, rub down); English first used it to mean 'polished' in style, which narrowed to 'pithy, free of excess words'.
Remember it
TERSE rhymes with 'curse' and 'worse' - and a terse reply can feel like both. Trim a 'verse' down to its bare bones and it gets terse.
A little poem
He said one word and shut the door.
It landed harder than a speech of more.
couplet
Wordplay
- I asked the editor to describe brevity. She said: 'Terse.' That was the whole answer.
What it teaches
Terse is what you call a short answer you didn't want; the same words, welcomed, would just be clear.
Quick facts
What does TERSE mean?
Brief and to the point, often to the point of seeming abrupt or curt.
Is TERSE a valid word?
Yes — TERSE is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is TERSE?
TERSE has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does TERSE come from?
From Latin 'tersus' meaning polished or wiped clean, past participle of 'tergēre' (to wipe, rub down); English first used it to mean 'polished' in style, which narrowed to 'pithy, free of excess words'.
What can TERSE teach us?
Terse is what you call a short answer you didn't want; the same words, welcomed, would just be clear.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.