fatigue

Pronunciation

• IPA: /fəˈtiːɡ/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French fatigue (“weariness”), from fatiguer (“to tire”),^[2][3][4] from Latin fatīgō (“to tire out”), originally to cause to break down,^[2][3] from a pre-Latin *fatiagos (“driving to breaking point”), from *fatis, an Old Latin word seen in affatim (“to bursting, enough”), and the root of agō (“to drive”).^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

That which causes weariness, a tiring task: 1669 in Barnhart, the OED and Merriam-Webster, the 1660s in Etymonline.^[2][5][6][3]

Semantic evolution

Weariness from exertion is from 1719.^[5][3] A soldier's non-military duties, sometimes given as punishment, are fatigues from 1776,^[5][3][7] and fatigue dress, the clothes worn for them, from 1836.^[5] The weakening of metals under repeated stress is from 1854 in the OED (1877 in Etymonline),^[5][3] and a temporary loss of response in muscles or organs from 1872.^[5] The verb is from the 1690s; an earlier verb was fatigate (1530s).^[3]

Timeline

• 1669 – a wearying task.^[2][5]
• 1690s – to fatigue (verb).^[3]
• 1719 – weariness.^[5][3]
• 1776 – military fatigues.^[5]
• 1854 – metal fatigue.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Extreme tiredness from physical or mental effort; exhaustion.
2. The weakening of a material such as metal under repeated stress.
3. (physiology) Temporary inability of an organ or muscle to respond, after overactivity.
4. Fatigues: menial duties of soldiers, or the clothes worn for them.

Verb

1. To tire out; to weary.

Word family

• fatiguingly
• fatigueless
• antifatigue
• overfatigue
• battle fatigue
• chronic fatigue syndrome
• combat fatigue
• compassion fatigue

Related words

• fatigable
• indefatigable
• fatigued
• agent

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press