Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “distraught” come from?

Distraught comes from Latin distractus, the past participle of distraho meaning to pull apart, from traho to pull, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to draw or drag.

distraught (English): Deeply hurt, saddened, or worried; distressed;...

Definitions

  1. Deeply hurt, saddened, or worried; distressed;...

Ancestry of “distraught”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishdistraught—
2Middle Englishstraughtstretched, distraught
3Old Englishstreahte—

Words derived from “distraught”

  • distraughtly
  • undistraught
  • distraughtness
Every word from Old English streahte →