English
angry
Angry comes from Middle English angry, from anger ‘grief, distress’ + -y, from Old Norse angr ‘sorrow’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enǵʰ- ‘to constrict’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂enǵʰ-‘to constrict’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂énǵʰos‘narrowness’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*angazaz‘worry’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350angr‘sorrow’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500anger‘grief’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500angry‘angry’
- Englishearliest quotation 1578same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂enǵʰ-‘to constrict’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂énǵʰos‘narrowness’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*angazaz‘worry’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350angr‘sorrow’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500anger‘grief’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500angry‘angry’
- Englishearliest quotation 1578same form
Earliest quotation: 1578, The Cathechisme or Manner How to Instruc, London: […] Henrie Middleton: “Onely they that repent, and are verie ſorie that…”
Formed from anger + -y
Proto-Indo-European *h₂enǵʰ- ‘narrow, tied together’
Proto-Germanic *angazaz ‘grief, sorrow’
Old Norse angr ‘affliction, sorrow’
Middle English anger ‘grief; wrath’
English anger
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂enǵʰ- ‘distressed, anxious’
anxiety, anxious, eng, anguish, angst, angina, 11 more
through Old Norse angr ‘sorrow, resentment, distress’
through Middle English anger ‘Grief, painfulness, or discomfort’
through Middle English angry
Today it means
adj Displaying or feeling anger.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂enǵʰ- / angry