Where does “worry” come from?
Worry comes from Middle English worien, from Old English werian, from Proto-Germanic wurgijaną, tracing back through Proto-Indo-European roots wes-, wer-, and wes- with the suffix -yeti.
worry (English): To be troubled; to give way to mental anxiety or...
Definitions
- To be troubled; to give way to mental anxiety or...
Ancestry of “worry”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | worien | — |
| 2 | Old English | wyrġan | to strangle |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | wurgijaną | to strangle |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | wargaz | outlaw, criminal; wolf |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | werǵʰ- | bind, squeeze; to bind, squeeze; to turn, twist,... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | wēr- | true |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |