Origin and history of terebic

Mediterranean tree, a member of the sumac family, late 14c., in Bible translations, terebint, theribynte, terebinte, from Old French therebint, terebinte (13c.) and directly from Latin terebinthus (Pliny), from Greek terebinthos, earlier terminthos, probably from a non-Indo-European language (Klein suggests Creto-Minoic). The tree is the source of Chian turpentine. Related: Terebinthine (1540s); terebinthinous; terebinthaceous.

early 14c., terbentyn, terebentine, "semi-liquid resin of the terebinth tree," from Old French terebinte "turpentine" (13c.), from Latin terebintha resina "resin of the terebinth tree," from Greek rhētinē terebinthē, from fem. of terebinthos (see terebinth).

By 16c. the word was applied generally to oleoresinous substances generated by the wood or bark of coniferous trees. Related: Turpentinic; turpentinous.

Middle English -ik, -ick, word-forming element making adjectives, "having to do with, having the nature of, being, made of, caused by, similar to," from French -ique and directly from Latin -icus or from cognate Greek -ikos "in the manner of; pertaining to." From PIE adjective suffix *-(i)ko, which also yielded Slavic -isku, adjectival suffix indicating origin, the source of the -sky (Russian -skii) in many surnames. In chemistry, indicating a higher valence than names in -ous (first in benzoic, 1791).

In Middle English and after often spelled -ick, -ike, -ique. Variant forms in -ick (critick, ethick) were common in early Modern English and survived in English dictionaries into early 19c. This spelling was supported by Johnson but opposed by Webster, who prevailed.