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threat

noun
/θɹɛt/UK/θɹet/

Etymology

From Middle English threten, from Old English þrēatian (“to press, oppress, repress, correct, threaten”), derived from Proto-Indo-European *trewd- (“to squeeze, push, press”). Cognate with Scots threit (“to threaten”), Dutch verdrieten (“to sadden, displease”), Middle Low German drēten (“to threaten”), German verdrießen (“to bother, vex”), Faroese tróta (“to run out”), Icelandic þrjóta (“to run out, end”), Norwegian tryte (“to run out, end”), Swedish tryda (“to run out”), Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌸𐍂𐌹𐌿𐍄𐌰𐌽 (usþriutan, “to harass, torment”), Latin trūdō (“to push”), Albanian ndrydh (“to sprain, supress, withdraw”), Belarusian трудзіць (trudzicʹ, “to burden, tire”), Bulgarian тру̀дя (trùdja, “to work”), Czech trudit (“to toil, worry”), Polish trudzić (“to toil, worry”), Russian труди́ть (trudítʹ, “to burden, tire”), Serbo-Croatian trúditi (“to try, make and effot”), Ukrainian труди́ти (trudýty, “to toil, tire”).

  1. derived from *trewd-✻
  2. inherited from *þrautaz✻
  3. inherited from þrēat
  4. inherited from threte

Definitions

  1. An expression of intent to injure or punish another.

    • There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats.

  2. An indication of potential or imminent danger.

    • Verifying and addressing actual threats is not paranoia.
    • Many genes with reproductive roles also have antibacterial and immune functions, which indicate that the threat of microbial attack on the sperm or egg may be a major influence on rapid evolution during reproduction.

  3. A person or object that is regarded as a danger

    A person or object that is regarded as a danger; a menace.

    • Rooney's United team-mate Chris Smalling was given his debut at right-back and was able to adjust to the international stage in relatively relaxed fashion as Bulgaria barely posed a threat of any consequence.
  4. ›+ 4 more definitions

    1. To press

      To press; urge; compel.

    2. To threaten.

      • An hideous Geant horrible and hye, / That with his talnesse seemd to threat the skye […]
      • What? threat you me with telling of the King? I will auoucht’t in preſence of the King: I dare aduenture to be ſent to th’Towre.
      • O yes, and soundless too; / For you have stolen their buzzing, Antony, / And very wisely threat before you sting.

    3. To use threats

      To use threats; act or speak menacingly; threaten.

    4. A surname.

The neighborhood

Derived

biothreat, counterthreat, cyberthreat, death threat, empty threat, idle threat, immunothreat, nonthreat, second-order threat, stereotype threat, threat actor, threatful, threatless, threatmate, threatproof, threatscape, threatsome, threatspot, throffer, triple threat

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at threat. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01threat02injure03living04life05preceding06rank07acting08authority09power10coerce

A definitional loop anchored at threat. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

10 hops · closes at threat

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA