horripilation
[ haw-rip-uh-ley-shuhn, ho- ]
(noun) a bristling of the hair on the skin from cold, fear, etc.; goosebumps.
ORIGIN
The horri- part comes from a Latin verb meaning “to bristle,” and this verb is also the source of words such as horrendous, horrify, and horror. Unlike terror, which literally has to do with being frightened, the root of horror is all about hair standing on its end! In addition, the -pil- part of horripilation is a Latin stem meaning “hair.”
Horripilation was first recorded in English in the 1650s.
EXAMPLE
As the truck set off on the haunted hayride route, the riders experienced some horripilation in anticipation of the scares ahead.
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