embarrassment

Etymology

It was formed from English embarrass + -ment in English, perhaps after embarrassement,^[2][3][4] and Barnhart, Merriam-Webster and Klein derive it from the French noun, which is now obsolete.^[5][6][7] The verb embarrass is embarrasser (“to hamper, perplex”),^[2][3][8] which was taken from embarazar.^[2][9][8] The sources differ on where the Spanish verb came from.^[2][9] The OED, Merriam-Webster and Hoad derive it from embaraçar, from baraço (“cord, halter”), originally of an animal tied with a cord;^[2][6][8] the AHD, Ayto, Barnhart and Etymonline trace it through imbarazzo (“obstacle”) to imbarrare (“to bar”), from in- (“in”) and Vulgar Latin *barra (“bar”), so that its literal sense would be “put behind bars”.^{[9][10][5][3]}

Earliest recorded meaning

Something that hinders; an obstacle or difficulty: 1676, in Elisha Coles's English Dictionary.^[2][5] Merriam-Webster also dates the word to 1676.^[6]

Semantic evolution

For its first century embarrassment meant hindrance and perplexity rather than shame: the condition of being hampered from 1689, confusion or hesitation in judgement from 1721,^[2] and Johnson (1755) defined it as “perplexity; entanglement”.^[11] Financial difficulty, now mostly in financial embarrassment, is recorded from 1727.^[2][4] The feeling of awkward self-consciousness is first quoted by the OED in 1751,^[2] while Barnhart and Etymonline date it to 1774, in Burke's writings.^[5][3] Ayto notes that in the verb the sense “disconcert” has overtaken the older “impede”, which survives in financially embarrassed.^[10] A thing or person that causes embarrassment is recorded from 1873 by the OED,^[2] but Etymonline dates it to 1729.^[3] An embarrassment of riches, an excess of good things, is recorded from 1815,^[2] after the French embarras de richesse (1726).^[3] The sense of loss of public credibility, said of a government or organization, dates from 1897.^[2]

Timeline

• 1676 – a hindrance or obstacle.^[2][5]
• 1689 – the condition of being hindered.^[2]
• 1721 – perplexity, hesitation.^[2]
• 1727 – financial difficulty.^[2]
• 1751 – awkward self-consciousness.^[2]
• 1774 – Barnhart's and Etymonline's date for the feeling of unease.^[5][3]
• 1815 – embarrassment of riches.^[2]
• 1873 – a person or thing that embarrasses.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A feeling of awkward self-consciousness, shame or discomfort: His face went red with embarrassment.
2. A person or thing that causes such feelings, or that damages someone's reputation: The leaked memo was an embarrassment to the council.
3. Financial difficulty, usually financial embarrassment.
4. An excessive amount, especially in an embarrassment of riches.
5. (rare) A hindrance or difficulty.

Related words

• embarrass
• bar
• embargo

References

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