anguish etymology

Etymology:

• Old English angwisc, "grief, distress, torment"
• Proto-Germanic *angust-, "narrow, cramped, distressed"
• Proto-Indo-European root *angh-, "tight, narrow"

Meaning:

• Extreme mental or physical suffering
• Keen distress or pain

Origin:

The word "anguish" originates from the Proto-Indo-European root *angh-, meaning "tight" or "narrow." This root is also found in the words "anxiety," "anger," and "stench." Over time, the meaning of "anguish" evolved to refer specifically to extreme mental suffering or torment.

Historical Usage:

• "The groans of anguish which burst from the lips of the wounded officer." (Horace Walpole, 18th century)
• "The anguish of the mother over the loss of her child was unbearable." (Jane Austen, 19th century)
• "The prisoner writhed in anguish as the chains tightened." (Charles Dickens, 19th century)

anguish relate terms

• anguished

  Etymology of anguished From Latin angustus meaning narrow straitened Comes from

• anguish

  Etymology Old English angwisc grief distress torment Proto Germanic angust nar

• anguishous

  Etymology From Middle English anguisshous from Old French anguissous from Latin angus

• anguish

  Etymology Old English angwisc grief distress torment Proto Germanic angust nar

• agnail

  Etymology Agnail is derived from the Old English words ange meaning pain and n

• anger

  Etymology Old English anger noun and verb derived from the Proto Germanic root an

• angina

  Etymology From Latin angina a narrowing of the throat The word is derived from the Gree

• angry

  Etymology Old English angre noun and angrian verb Proto Germanic angruz Pos

• angst

  Etymology The word angst is derived from the German word Angst which has been in use

• anguish

  Etymology Old English angwisc grief distress torment Proto Germanic angust nar

• anxious

  Etymology and Meaning of Anxious Etymology The word anxious derives from the Latin

• hangnail

  Etymology Hang From the Old English word hōn meaning to hang or to suspend Nai

• quinsy

  Etymology Middle English quynaci quinaci Old French quinancie quinance Late Latin

• pain

  Etymology Old French peine Latin poena punishment penalty Proto Indo European k

• hurt

  Etymology The word hurt derives from the Middle English word hurten which is of Ang

• torment

  Etymology Old French tormenter Latin tormentum Greek tormén instrument of to

• agony

  Etymology Greek ἀγωνία agōnia Meaning Contest struggle painful distr

• distress

  Etymology Old French destresse Late Latin districtius comparative of districtus mea

• pressure

  Etymology Latin pressura from premere to press Meaning Force exerted per unit a

• anxiety

  Etymology The word anxiety comes from the Latin word anxietas which means anxiety

• discomfit

  Etymology of Discomfit Latin dis prefix meaning apart away conficere verb

• agonize

  Etymology and Meaning agonize verb Origin From Late Latin agonizāre from Greek a