Etymologically
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angoisse

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 14:56. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɑ̃.ɡwas/[1]

Forms

angoisse f (plural angoisses)[1] Old French anguisse (about 1130), then angoisse.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French anguisse, inherited from Latin angustia (“narrowness; narrow place; distress”), derived from angustus (“narrow”), from angō (“to squeeze, choke”).[2][3][4] In classical Latin the word was used mostly in the plural, for straits and difficulties, and Christian Latin gave it the sense “anguish”.[2][5] anxieux and angine belong to the same Latin family.[2][3] Cognate with Italian angoscia, Old Occitan angoissa, Catalan angoixa and Spanish congoja.[6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the 12th century it already meant anguish and distress: Telle angoisse a, ne put dire raison (Roncevaux), and the Life of Saint Thomas Becket has d'anguisse tressua, “he sweated with anguish”.[7][2]

Semantic evolution

Old French also used it for a narrow pass (12th–16th centuries), for embarrassment and difficulty, and even for violent anger.[2][4] The word went out of use for a time (a “vieux mot” in the 17th century) and came back in the 18th, first as a learned term; the modern notion of anxiety felt as a tightening of the chest is clearly defined in 1751.[2] Poire d'angoisse named a choke pear, an iron gag, and figuratively a bitter trial (Molière).[8][7] In the 20th century it took philosophical values (angoisse existentielle), linked with the translations of Kierkegaard, and familiar ones: c'est l'angoisse ![2][5]

Timeline

  • c. 1130 – Anguisse.[2][3]
  • 12th century – Anguish, distress.[7]
  • 17th century – Considered an old word.[2]
  • 1751 – Anxiety as a tightening of the chest.[2]
  • 20th century – Existential anguish.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Great anxiety, a deep fear of a vague but imminent threat: passer une nuit d'angoisse, crise d'angoisse.[9][5]
  2. (psychiatry) A painful state of alarm with bodily symptoms such as a tight throat or chest.[9][5]
  3. (philosophy) Existential anguish, angst.[9][5][1]
  4. (familiar) C'est l'angoisse: it's awful.[5]
  5. Poire d'angoisse: a choke pear, an instrument of torture.[8][7]

Word family

  • angoisser
  • angoissant
  • angoissé
  • angoisseux
  • anxieux
  • angine
  • Latin angustia
  • English anguish

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  7. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)