abash

The story

1. Medieval Latin · derived from*exbadō
2. Old French · derived fromesbaïr
3. Middle French · derived fromabair
4. Anglo-Norman · derived fromabaïss
5. Middle English · inherited fromabaisen
6. English todayabash

Attested from 1303, as Middle English abaisen, abaishen, abashen (“lose one's composure, be upset”), from the later 14th-century also transitive "to make ashamed, to perplex or embarrass"; from Anglo-Norman abaïss, from Middle French abair, abaisser (“lose one's composure, be startled, be stunned”), from Old French esbaïr, (French ébahir), from es- (“utterly”) + baïr (“to astonish”), from Medieval Latin *exbadō, from ex- (“out of”) + bado (“to gape, yawn”), an onomatopoeic word imitating a yawn, see also French badaud (“rubbernecker”).

First known use, by meaning

• First attested from around (1150 to 1350). To make ashamed; to embarrass; to destroy the self-possession of, as by exciting suddenly a consciousness of guilt, mistake, or inferiority; to disconcert; to discomfit.
• Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 16ᵗʰ century. To lose self-possession; to become ashamed.