torrid (adj.)

1580s, in torrid zone "region of the earth between the tropics," from Medieval Latin torrida zona, from fem. of torridus "dried with heat, scorching hot," from torrere "to parch," from PIE root *ters- "to dry." Sense of "very hot" is first attested 1610s. Figurative sense from 1630s.

updated on May 13, 2017