thrill

In the 1300s a person who was thrilled might not live long enough to tell about it, because the Middle English verb thrillen—the ancestor of our word thrill—meant literally “to pierce” or “stab,” as with a sword or spear. Thrillen was a variant of thirlen, which continued Old English thyrlian, derived from thyrel, “hole.” (The word thyrel also entered into Old English nosthyrl, literally, “nose hole,” the ancestor of modern English nostril.) Because the feeling of being pierced is a little like the experience of being moved by a strong emotion, thrill came to mean “to cause someone to feel excited.”