hassle
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Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈhæsl̩/[1]
Etymology
Of unknown origin.[2][3][4] It may come from Southern US dialect hassle “to pant, breathe noisily” (1928),[2][3][5] or from English dialect hassle “to hack at with a blunt knife”.[2] Etymonline also mentions hatchel “to harass”.[5] It is often explained as a blend, of harass and hustle (Merriam-Webster's suggestion for the verb), or of haggle with tussle or wrestle.[6][2]
Earliest recorded meaning
A quarrel, argument or fuss; a difficulty or trouble (1945, American English).[7][2][3][5] Random House dates it to 1935–40.[4]
Semantic evolution
Etymonline cites the noun from Down Beat magazine in 1945 and notes that it was a show-business vogue word in 1946.[5] The verb, “to argue” and “to bother, harass”, followed in 1951.[6][3][5]
Timeline
- 1928 – Southern dialect hassle, to pant.[3][5]
- 1945 – a quarrel; trouble, bother.[7][3][5]
- 1951 – verb, to argue; to harass.[6][3][5]
Modern meaning
Noun
- Trouble or bother; an annoying problem or inconvenience.
- An argument or fight.
Verb
- To bother, annoy or harass persistently.
- To argue or fight.
Word family
- hassler
Related words
- harass
- hustle
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
- ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
- ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
- ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press