anguish

anguish · noun¹

1. Latin · derived fromangustia“narrowness, scarcity, difficulty, distress”
2. Old French · derived fromangoisse
3. Anglo-Norman · derived fromanguise
4. Middle English · inherited fromangwissh
5. English todayanguish

From Middle English angwissh, anguishe, angoise, from Anglo-Norman anguise, anguisse, from Old French angoisse, from Latin angustia (“narrowness, scarcity, difficulty, distress”), from angustus (“narrow, difficult”), from angere (“to press together, cause pain, distress”). See angst, the Germanic cognate, and anger.

anguish · verb²

1. Old French · derived fromangoissier
2. Middle English · inherited fromangwischen
3. English todayanguish

From Middle English angwischen, anguis(s)en, from Old French angoissier, anguissier, from the noun (see Etymology 1).

Anguish · proper noun³

The given name, most famously borne by the character of King Anguish of Ireland, is thought to be a variant of Aengus/Angus, from Irish. The surname is probably also a variant of Angus.