worry

worry
\ \ [OE] Worry originally meant ‘strangle’. It comes from a prehistoric West Germanic *wurgjan, which also produced German wügenchoke, strangle’. The sense ‘harass physically’ (as in ‘dogs worrying sheep’) emerged in the 16th century, via an intermediate ‘seize by the throat’, and the modern sense ‘vex, disturb’ came on the scene in the 17th century, but the verb was not used intransitively until the mid- 19th century.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • worry — vb Worry, annoy, harass, harry, plague, pester, tease, tantalize can all mean to torment so as to destroy one s peace of mind or to disturb one acutely. Worry stresses incessant attacking or goading and an intention or sometimes an effect of… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Worry — Wor ry, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Worried}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Worrying}.] [OE. worowen, wirien, to strangle, AS. wyrgan in [=a]wyrgan; akin to D. worgen, wurgen, to strangle, OHG. wurgen, G. w[ u]rgen, Lith. verszti, and perhaps to E. wring.] [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Worry — Wor ry, n.; pl. {Worries}. A state of undue solicitude; a state of disturbance from care and anxiety; vexation; anxiety; fret; as, to be in a worry. The whir and worry of spindle and of loom. Sir T. Browne. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • worry — ► VERB (worries, worried) 1) feel or cause to feel troubled over actual or potential difficulties. 2) annoy or disturb. 3) (of a dog or other carnivorous animal) tear at or pull about with the teeth. 4) (of a dog) chase and attack (livestock,… …   English terms dictionary

  • worry — [wʉr′ē] vt. worried, worrying [ME wirwen < OE wyrgan, to strangle, injure, akin to Ger würgen, to strangle < IE * werĝh , to twist, choke < base * wer , to twist > WORM] 1. a) to harass or treat roughly with or as with continual… …   English World dictionary

  • worry — [n] anxiety, trouble anguish, annoyance, apprehension, bad news*, care, concern, disquiet, distress, disturbance, doubt, fear, headache*, heartache*, irritation, misery, misgiving, nag*, pain*, perplexity, pest, plague, presentiment, problem,… …   New thesaurus

  • Worry — Wor ry, v. i. To feel or express undue care and anxiety; to manifest disquietude or pain; to be fretful; to chafe; as, the child worries; the horse worries. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • worry — I noun affliction, annoyance, anxiety, apprehension, apprehensiveness, care, concern, consternation, difficulty, discomfort, discomposure, dismay, disquiet, distress, distress one s self, dread, fear, tearfulness, grief, malaise, mental agitation …   Law dictionary

  • worry — wor|ry1 W2S1 [ˈwʌri US ˈwə:ri] v past tense and past participle worried present participle worrying third person singular worries ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(be anxious)¦ 2 don t worry 3¦(make somebody anxious)¦ 4 not to worry 5 nothing to worry about …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • worry — {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun ADJECTIVE ▪ big, considerable, great, main, major, serious ▪ Paying the mortgage is a big worry for many people. ▪ Her mothe …   Collocations dictionary

  • worry — 1 verb 1 BE ANXIOUS (I) to be anxious or unhappy about something so that you think about it a lot (+ about): You ve really got no need to worry about your weight. | worry that: He s worried that he might lose his job. (+ over): Dad worries over… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

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