Where does “sorrow” come from?
Sorrow comes from Middle English sorwe and sorow, from Old English sorg, from Proto-Germanic surgō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European swergʰ-, a root of uncertain meaning.
sorrow (English): unhappiness, woe; An instance or cause of...
Definitions
- unhappiness, woe; An instance or cause of...
Ancestry of “sorrow”, step by step
sorrow traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via German sorge
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | sorge | inflection of sorgen: ## first-person singular... |
| 2 | Middle High German | sorge | sorrow; worry; care |
| 3 | Old High German | sorga | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | sorgu | worry, sorrow |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | surgō | worry, care, sorrow |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | swergʰ- | to watch over, worry; be ill, suffer; watch over,... |