Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “anguish” come from?

Anguish comes from Middle English angwissh, from Old French anguisse, from Latin angustia meaning narrowness or tightness, derived from Latin angustus meaning narrow.

anguish (English): Extreme pain, either of body or mind;...

Definitions

  1. Extreme pain, either of body or mind;...

Ancestry of “anguish”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishangwisshDistress, anxiety, nervousness; Anguish, terror,...
2Anglo-NormananguiseAlternative form of angoisse
3Old Frenchangoissefear, worry, terror
4Latinangustianarrowness, straitness; defile, straight, gorge;...
5Latin-iaUsed to form a feminine abstract noun, usually...
6Latin-iusforming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter...
7Proto-Italic-jōsForms comparative adjectives
8Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems

Words derived from “anguish”

  • anguishly
  • enanguished
  • anguishment
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yós →