resentment

Etymology

It is borrowed from French ressentiment (“memory of an injury, grievance”), earlier resentiment,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} a noun formed from ressentir (“to feel pain, regret”) (see resent) and -ment.^[2][3][5] The OED's revised entry (2010) treats it instead as formed in English from resent and -ment, after the French word.^[7] The Oxford Dictionary of English gives Italian risentimento or the French word as its source,^[8] and the OED compares Spanish resentimiento and Portuguese ressentimento.^[7] The French verb comes from Old French resentir (“to feel again, feel in turn”), from re- and sentir (“to feel”), from Latin sentiō (“to feel, think”).^[2] Etymonline notes that resentiment was used in English slightly earlier, in the 1590s.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A sense of grievance; indignation at an injury or insult received: 1613, in Dallington's Aphorismes Civill and Militarie.^[7] Merriam-Webster dates it to about 1603,^[3] and Florio's dictionary (1611) uses it to gloss the Italian word.^[7]

Semantic evolution

In the 17th century the word was also neutral: any feeling or emotion (1622–1757), a sensation or impression (1634–61), sensibility (1640–1769), appreciation or concern.^[7] French had the sense "gratitude" in 1613,^[7] and the verb resent could mean "appreciate" from the 1640s.^[2] Johnson (1755) gave "strong perception of good or ill" first and "deep sense of injury" second.^[6] Only the sense of grievance survived;^[7] Merriam-Webster marks the neutral one obsolete.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1603 – Merriam-Webster's first date.^[3]
• 1611 – used in Florio's gloss of the Italian word.^[7]
• 1613 – a sense of grievance, ill will.^[7]
• 1622 – any feeling or emotion (obsolete by 1757).^[7]
• 1634 – a sensation, an impression (obsolete by 1661).^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. Bitter indignation or ill will at being treated unfairly or insulted: He felt deep resentment towards his former partner.^[3][9][7]
2. (obsolete) A feeling or emotion of any kind; a sensation (1622–1757).^[7][3][6]

Related words

• resent
• sentiment
• sense
• ressentiment

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins