Where does “stressful” come from?
Stressful comes from English stress combined with the Middle English suffix -ful, where stress derives from Latin stringere meaning to draw tight, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European strenk-.
stressful (English): Irritating; causing stress
Definitions
- Irritating; causing stress
Ancestry of “stressful”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | stress | A physical, chemical, infective agent aggressing... |
| 2 | Middle English | destresse | — |
| 3 | Old French | destrecier | to distress |
| 4 | Latin | distringō | to stretch out or apart |
| 5 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 6 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 7 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |