Where does “stage fright” come from?
stage fright (English) comes from English stage, from French stage, from Old French estation, from Latin statiō, from Latin -tiō, from Latin dissertātiō, from Latin dissertus, from Latin disserere — small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble.
stage fright (English): A state of nervousness about performing some...
Definitions
- A state of nervousness about performing some...
Ancestry of “stage fright”, step by step
stage fright traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English stage
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | stage | A phase; A platform; a surface, generally... |
| 2 | French | stage | internship, job that a trainee is doing in a... |
| 3 | Old French | estation | garrison; pause; break; visit to a church for... |
| 4 | Latin | statiō | outpost, picket |
| 5 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 6 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 7 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 8 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 9 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 10 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 11 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 12 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |
via English fright
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | fright | A state of terror excited by the sudden... |
| 2 | Middle English | fright | Alternative form of frith; A fright or scare |
| 3 | Old English | fryhtu | Alternative form of fyrhtu: fright |
| 4 | Old English | fyrhtu | fright |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | furhtī | fright, fear |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | furhtį̄ | fear, fright |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | perǵ- | — |