Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “troubles” come from?

Troubles comes from Middle English troublen, from Old French trubler and torbler, from Vulgar Latin turbulare, ultimately from Latin turba meaning a confused crowd or disturbance.

troubles (English): plural of trouble; Third-person singular simple...

Definitions

  1. plural of trouble; Third-person singular simple...

Ancestry of “troubles”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtroubleA distressing or dangerous situation; A...
2Middle Englishtrouble—
3Old Frenchtrobleturbulent; cloudy; clouded; strife; commotion
4Old Frenchtroblerto trouble; to disrupt; to waylay
5Old FrenchtorblerAlternative form of trobler
6Vulgar LatinturbuloI disrupt, unsettle, agitate, upset, trouble,...
7Latinturbuladisorderly group, a little crowd or people;...
8Latinturbastir, disturbance, tumult, uproar, trouble; mob,...
9Ancient Greekτύρβηdisorder, confusion, tumult; poetic rout, revelry
10Proto-Indo-EuropeantwerH-to enclose, fence in; to grab, seize; to stir
Every word from Proto-Indo-European twerH- →