agony
- agony
\ \ [14] Agony is one of the more remote relatives of that prolific Latin verb agere (see AGENT). Its ultimate source is the Greek verb ágein ‘lead’, which comes from the same Indo- European root as agere. Related to ágein was the Greek noun agón, originally literally ‘a bringing of people together to compete for a prize’, hence ‘contest, conflict’ (which has been borrowed directly into English as agon, a technical term for the conflict between the main characters in a work of literature). Derived from agón was agōníā ‘(mental) struggle, anguish’, which passed into English via either late Latin agōnia or French agonie. The sense of physical suffering did not develop until the 17th century; hitherto, agony had been reserved for mental stress. The first mention of an agony column comes in the magazine Fun in 1863.
\ \ Cf.⇒ ANTAGONIST
Word origins - 2ed.
J. Ayto.
2005.
:
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Agony — may refer to: Concepts * Pain, anguish, or struggle, especially the struggle that precedes death, from the Greek word agonia (Webster s dictionary) *Passion (Christianity), also called the Agony of Christ *Agony aunt, an advice columnist *Spice… … Wikipedia
Agony — Éditeur Psygnosis Développeur Art Magic Date de sortie 1992 Genre Shoot them up Mode de jeu Un joueur Plate forme … Wikipédia en Français
Agony — Ag o*ny, n.; pl. {Agonies}. [L. agonia, Gr. ?, orig. a contest, fr. ?: cf. F. agonie. See {Agon}.] 1. Violent contest or striving. [1913 Webster] The world is convulsed by the agonies of great nations. Macaulay. [1913 Webster] 2. Pain so extreme… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
agony — (n.) late 14c., mental suffering (especially that of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane), from O.Fr. agonie, agoine anguish, terror, death agony (14c.), and directly from L.L. agonia, from Gk. agonia a (mental) struggle for victory, originally a… … Etymology dictionary
agony — [ag′ə nē] n. pl. agonies [ME agonie < L agonia < Gr agōnia, a contest for victory < agōn, AGON] 1. very great mental or physical pain 2. death pangs 3. a convulsive struggle 4. a sudden, strong outburst (of emotion) [an agony of … English World dictionary
agony — index distress (anguish), pain, plaint, stress (strain) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
agony — suffering, passion, *distress, misery, dolor Analogous words: pang, throe, ache, *pain, twinge: *trial, tribulation, affliction, visitation Contrasted words: *rest, repose, ease, comfort: solace, consolation (see corresponding verbs at COMFORT):… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
agony — [n] suffering, pain affliction, anguish, distress, dolor, misery, pangs, passion, throes, torment, torture, woe; concepts 410,728 Ant. comfort, happiness, health, peace, success … New thesaurus
agony — ► NOUN (pl. agonies) ▪ extreme suffering. ORIGIN Greek ag nia, from ag n contest … English terms dictionary
agony — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ excruciating, extreme, intense ▪ absolute, pure, sheer, utter ▪ exquisite ▪ … Collocations dictionary
agony */ — UK [ˈæɡənɪ] / US noun [countable/uncountable] Word forms agony : singular agony plural agonies 1) great pain in agony: William fell to the ground, writhing in agony. 2) a strong and unpleasant feeling, especially great worry or sadness agony of:… … English dictionary
