concussion

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English concussioun,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Latin concussiō (“a shaking, an earthquake”),^[4][5][6][7] a noun of action from concussus, the past participle of concutiō (“to strike together, shake violently”).^[2][4][8] Merriam-Webster Unabridged allows that it came through Middle French concussion as well as directly from Latin,^[9] and the OED notes the French word from the 16th century.^[5] The Latin verb is formed from com- (“with, together”), used as an intensive, and quatiō (“to shake, strike”).^[4][10][7] The same verb, through its variant quassō, gave quash and cashier "to dismiss".^[10] The MED thinks the Middle English word was probably confused with contusioun, contusion.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Bruising, a contusion, especially of the head: before 1400, in a translation of Lanfranc's Science of Surgery, which speaks of "woundis of concussioun in þe heed" and explains the word as being struck with a staff.^[3][6][4]

Semantic evolution

The general sense, the action of shaking violently or the shock of an impact, is recorded from 1490, in Caxton's Eneydos,^[5] and Etymonline dates it to the late 15th century.^[4] The medical sense, an injury to the brain or another part caused by a heavy blow or fall, follows in 1541, in R. Copland's translation of Galen;^[5][6][4] Hoad likewise dates the shaking sense to the 15th century and the injury to the 16th,^[8] while the Shorter Oxford puts the medical sense first, in late Middle English.^[11] Ayto stresses that the underlying idea was violent shaking and that the brain injury emerged only in the 16th century.^[10] A figurative use is found from before 1656, in Bishop J. Hall.^[5] From 1602 the word also meant extortion by threats or violence, especially by those in power, a sense taken from Roman law;^[5] Merriam-Webster Unabridged labels it obsolete civil-law usage.^[9] Johnson (1755) defined it as "the act of shaking; agitation; tremefaction", quoting Bacon on the ringing of bells shaking the air.^[12]

Timeline

• before 1400 – concussioun, bruising, contusion of the head.^[3][6]
• 1490 – violent shaking; the shock of impact.^[5]
• 1541 – injury to the brain caused by a blow or fall.^[5][6]
• 1602 – extortion by threats or violence (now obsolete).^[5]
• before 1656 – figurative use.^[5]
• 1755 – Johnson defines it as the act of shaking.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. A temporary disturbance of brain function caused by a blow to the head or a fall, often with brief loss of consciousness: The goalkeeper was taken off with a suspected concussion.^[13][9][11]
2. A violent shaking or jarring; the shock of an impact: The concussion of the blast shattered the windows.^[13][9][5]
3. (obsolete) Extortion by threats or violence.^[5][9]

Word family

• concussive
• concussively
• concussional
• concussion grenade

Related words

• concuss
• quash
• cashier
• percussion
• discuss
• contusion

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
3. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
11. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
13. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins