1590s, from Middle French pétrifier "to make or become stone" (16c.), from Latin petra "rock, crag" (see petrous) + -ficare, from facere "to make, do" (see factitious). Metaphoric sense of "paralyze with fear or shock" first recorded 1771. Related: Petrified; petrifying.
petrify 英文释义
1. cause to become stone-like or stiff or dazed and stunned;
"The horror petrified his feelings"
"Fear petrified her thinking"
2. change into stone;
"the wood petrified with time"
3. make rigid and set into a conventional pattern;
