distress

The story

1. Latin · derived fromdistringō
2. Old French · derived fromdestrece
3. Middle English · inherited fromdistresse
4. Latin · derived fromdistringō“to pull asunder, stretch out”
5. Old French · derived fromdestrecier“to restrain, constrain, put in straits, afflict, distress”
6. Middle English · inherited fromdistressen
7. English todaydistress

The verb is from Middle English distressen, from Old French destrecier (“to restrain, constrain, put in straits, afflict, distress”); compare French détresse. Ultimately from Medieval Latin as if *districtiō, an assumed frequentative form of Latin distringō (“to pull asunder, stretch out”), from dis- (“apart”) + stringō (“to draw tight, strain”). The noun is from Middle English distresse, from Old French destrece, ultimately also from Latin distringō.

Words from the same roots