anguish

anguish
\ \ [13] English acquired anguish from Old French anguisse, changing its ending to -ish in the 14th century. Its central notion of ‘distress’ or ‘suffering’ goes back ultimately (as in the case of the related anger) to a set of words meaning ‘constriction’ (for the sense development, compare the phrase in dire straits, where strait originally meant ‘narrow’). Old French anguisse came from Latin angustiadistress’, which was derived from the adjective angustusnarrow’. Like Greek ánkheinsqueeze, strangle’ (ultimate source of English angina [16]) and Latin angerestrangle’, this came originally from an Indo-European base *angg- ‘narrow’.
\ \ Cf.ANGER, ANGINA

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Anguish — An guish, n. [OE. anguishe, anguise, angoise, F. angoisse, fr. L. angustia narrowness, difficulty, distress, fr. angustus narrow, difficult, fr. angere to press together. See {Anger}.] Extreme pain, either of body or mind; excruciating distress.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • anguish — [aŋ′gwish] n. [ME angwisshe < OFr anguisse < L angustia, tightness, distress: see ANGER] great suffering, as from worry, grief, or pain; agony vt. to cause to feel anguish vi. to feel anguish SYN. DISTRESS …   English World dictionary

  • anguish — I verb ache, aggrieve, agonize, desolate, disturb, excruciate, grieve, harry, make miserable, pain, prostrate, rack, suffer, torment, torture, trouble, writhe associated concepts: mental anguish, noneconomic loss, pain and suffering II index pain …   Law dictionary

  • Anguish — An guish, v. t. [Cf. F. angoisser, fr. L. angustiare.] To distress with extreme pain or grief. [R.] Temple. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • anguish — woe, heartache, heartbreak, grief, *sorrow, regret Analogous words: *distress, suffering, dolor, misery, agony: worry, anxiety (see CARE): *pain, pang, throe, ache: torture, torment, affliction (see corresponding verbs at AFFLICT) Antonyms:… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • anguish — [n] severe upset or pain affliction, agony, distress, dole, dolor, grief, heartache, heartbreak, hurting, misery, pang, rue, sorrow, suffering, throe, torment, torture, woe, wretchedness; concept 410 Ant. comfort, contentment, happiness, joy,… …   New thesaurus

  • anguish — ► NOUN ▪ severe mental or physical pain or suffering. ORIGIN Latin angustia tightness , (in plural) straits, distress …   English terms dictionary

  • anguish — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ bitter, deep, great, real ▪ inner, personal, private ▪ emotional, mental …   Collocations dictionary

  • anguish — n. (formal) 1) to cause anguish 2) deep; mental anguish 3) anguish at, over 4) in anguish (in anguish over smb. s death) * * * [ æŋgwɪʃ] mental anguish over (formal) to cause anguish deep anguish at …   Combinatory dictionary

  • Anguish — For the movie, see Anguish (film) Anguish is a term used in contemporary philosophy, often as a translation from the German angst, meaning dread . It is a paramount feature of existentialist philosophy, in which anguish is often understood as the …   Wikipedia

  • anguish — {{11}}anguish (n.) c.1200, acute bodily or mental suffering, from O.Fr. anguisse, angoisse choking sensation, distress, anxiety, rage, from L. angustia (pl. angustiae) tightness, straitness, narrowness; figuratively distress, difficulty, from… …   Etymology dictionary

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