aggravate

The story

1. Latin · learned borrowing fromaggravātus
2. English todayaggravate

The adjective is first attested in 1471 in Middle English, the verb in 1530; from Latin aggravātus, perfect passive participle of aggravō (“to add to the weight of, make worse, oppress, annoy”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from ad- (“to”) + gravō (“to make heavy”), from gravis (“heavy”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). See grave and compare aggrieve and aggrege. Participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English. By surface analysis, ag- + grave (“heavy”) + -ate (“verb suffix”).

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 16th c. To make (an offence) worse or more severe; to increase in offensiveness or heinousness.
• from 16th c. To make (any bad thing) worse.
• from 16th c. To give extra weight or intensity to; to exaggerate, to magnify.
• 16th–18th c. To pile or heap (something heavy or onerous) on or upon someone.
• from 16th c. To exasperate; to provoke or irritate.