Trauma etymologically means a piercing that breaks a protective barrier

Evidence

The word “trauma” in Greek means “wound” and derives from titrosko, which means “to pierce.” Trauma thus designates the wound that results from an effraction— an “effraction” that can be physical (a “patent” wound) or psychical. In either case, trauma names a shock that forces open or pierces a protective barrier. — Catherine Malabou, The New Wounded, 307

Categorization

• DEFINE: Etymological and conceptual definition of trauma as effraction — the piercing of a protective barrier — grounding the psychoanalytic frame Malabou will later overturn.