Terence
/ˈtɛɹəns/
Terence proper noun: a male given name from Latin, popular in the U.K. in the mid-twentieth century.
Proper noun
Terence
- A male given name from Latin, popular in the U.K. in the mid-twentieth century.
- "Very likely the ragged scion of one of those Irish gentry, who has taken naturally to 'the road'. He should be at school - though I warrant me his knowledge of Terence will not extend beyond his own name," said Lord Henry Somerset, aid-de-camp to the Lord Lieutenant.1867, Bret Harte, chapter I, in Terence Denville
- They had an expensive, well-cut air which was like a uniform, and their conversation was all about people with names like Terence and Geoffrey, Philippa and Vivien, who lived in London and County Wicklow and who were "terribly amusing".1963, Jane McIlvaine, Cammie's Cousin, Bobbs-Merrill, page 58
Forms of Terence
| alternative form | Terrance |
|---|---|
| alternative form | Terrence |
| alternative form | Terance |
Origin of Terence
From Latin Terentius, a Roman family name of obscure origin, borne by a Roman playwright and by early Christian saints. * In Ireland, it has been used to represent Turlough.
Words formed from Terence
Questions about Terence
- What does Terence mean?
- Terence means a male given name from Latin, popular in the U.K. in the mid-twentieth century.
- What part of speech is Terence?
- Terence is a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce Terence?
- Terence is pronounced /ˈtɛɹəns/.
Words near Terence in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: Terence (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Terence.wav.
Cite this entry: “Terence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/terence. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.