English
distress
Distress comes from Old French destrecier ‘to restrain, constrain, put in straits,…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *streyg- ‘to stroke, rub, strike’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*streyg-‘to stroke, rub, strike’root as named · steps between not traced
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400destrecier‘to restrain, constrain, put in straits, afflict, distress’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500distressen
- Englishearliest quotation 1596distress
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*streyg-‘to stroke, rub, strike’root as named · steps between not traced
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400destrecier‘to restrain, constrain, put in straits, afflict, distress’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500distressen
- Englishearliest quotation 1596distress
Earliest quotation: 1596, Edmund Spenser: “If he were not paid, he would straight go…”
The story
The noun is from Middle English distresse, from Old French destrece, ultimately also from Latin distringō.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *streyg- ‘to stroke, rub, strike’
strike, stroke, streak, stricken, stringent, restraint, stricture, 7 more
Today it means
noun Physical or emotional discomfort, suffering, or alarm, particularly of a more acute nature.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *streyg- / distress