terrorism

Etymology

From French terrorisme, from terreur + -isme, equivalent to terror + -ism. The word first appears in English in 1795 in reference to the Jacobin radicals of France, who ruled during the Reign of Terror.

noun

1. (historical) The system of fear and intimidation put into place during the Reign of Terror in Revolutionary France around 1793-94.
   In England I was proscribed for having vindicated the French Revolution, and I have suffered a rigorous imprisonment in France for having pursued a similar mode of conduct. During the reign of terrorism, I was a close prisoner for eight long months, and remained so above three months after the era of the tenth Thermidor. 1795-07-07, Thomas Paine, The Constitution Of 1795 (Speech in the French National Convention)
2. The use of unlawful violence against people or property to achieve political objectives.
   The threat of terrorism to the British lies in the overreaction to it of British governments. Each one in turn clicks up the ratchet of surveillance, intrusion and security. Each one diminishes liberty. David Cameron insists that his latest communications data bill is "vital to counter terrorism". Yet terror is mayhem. It is no threat to freedom. That threat is from counter-terror, from ministers capitulating to securocrats. 2012-12-14, Simon Jenkins, “We mustn't overreact to North Korea boys' toys”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 2, page 23
   1. (by extension) The use of intimidation or bullying tactics.