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distress

Etymology and origin of the English word distress

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1280
Borrowed from
Old French destresse
Ultimate origin
Latin (districtus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /dɪˈstres/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French destresse (“constraint, affliction”) (modern détresse),[2][3][4] from Gallo-Romance *districtia, restraint, narrowness,[2][3][4] from Latin districtus, past participle of distringere (“to draw apart, hinder”), in Medieval Latin to compel,[2][3] from dis- (“apart”) and stringere (“to draw tight”) (see strain and distrain).[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A circumstance causing anxiety or hardship: about 1280 in Barnhart, the late 13th century in Etymonline.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The strain of adversity, trouble or pain is from 1297,[5] and anguish or suffering of body or mind from about 1300.[3] In law, distress is the seizing of goods to force payment of a debt (13th century).[4][6] A ship in distress, needing immediate help, is from 1659.[5] The verb is probably from about 1380,[2] the late 14th century in Etymonline.[3] To make furniture or fabric look old by marking it is a later sense.[7][6] Distressful is from 1591, in Shakespeare.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1280 – hardship.[2]
  • 1297 – adversity.[5]
  • c. 1300 – anguish.[3]
  • c. 1380 – to distress (verb).[2]
  • 1659 – a ship in distress.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Great worry, sorrow or pain.
  2. Danger or difficulty needing help: a ship in distress.
  3. (law) The seizure of goods as security for a debt.

Verb

  1. To cause someone worry or suffering.
  2. To give furniture or fabric a worn, aged look.

Word family

  • distressingly
  • distressful
  • predistress
  • distress merchandise
  • distress call
  • distress sale
  • distress signal

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Distress.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/distress. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·