sore

sore · adjective, adverb, noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*seh₂iro-
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*sairaz
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*sair
4. Old English · inherited fromsār“ache, wound”
5. Middle English · inherited fromsor
6. English todaysore

From Middle English sor, from Old English sār (“ache, wound”, noun) and sār (“painful, grievous”, adjective), from Proto-West Germanic *sair, from Proto-Germanic *sairaz (adjective) from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂iro-, enlargement of *seh₂y- (“to be fierce, afflict”). See also Dutch zeer (“sore, ache”), Danish sår (“wound”), German sehr (“very”); also Hittite [script needed] (sāwar, “anger”), Welsh hoed (“pain”), Ancient Greek αἱμωδία (haimōdía, “sensation of having teeth on edge”).

sore · noun²

1. Old French · derived fromsor“sorrel; reddish”
2. Middle English · inherited fromsor“sorrel”
3. English todaysore

From Middle English sor (“sorrel”), from Old French sor (“sorrel; reddish”). Compare French saur (“(archaic) reddish-brown; describing a young bird of prey”).

Words from the same roots