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ter·aph

(tĕrəf)

n. pl. ter·a·phim(-ə-fĭm)

A small image or idol representing an ancient Semitic household god.

[Back-formation from pl. teraphim, from Hebrew tərāpîm, household gods, perhaps pl. of *terep, *tarp-, household god, perhaps of Anatolian origin and akin to Luwian tarpalli-, ritual substitute (“one stepping in another's place, thing taking another's place”), and tarpa-, to tread, step on; akin to Greek trapein, to tread grapes, and Lithuanian trepenti, to stamp.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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