sore English · revision 10604

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 899|origins=ang sār}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /sɔː/, US /sɔːr/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|ang|sār|t=painful, grievous, aching]] (before 899, in Alfred's Pastoral Care),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|gem-pro|*sairaz]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) cognate with Old Saxon sēr, Dutch zeer, Old High German sēr (German sehr, very), Old Norse sárr, sore, wounded, and Gothic sair, pain.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) Possible cognates outside Germanic are Old Irish sāeth, pain, and Latin saevus, fierce.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) Etymonline thinks its meaning was influenced by Old Norse.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As a noun, bodily pain, about 825,^(OED 1989) and as an adjective painful, aching, before 899.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The noun also meant sickness, a wound, and grief or sorrow in Old and Middle English,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and is now restricted to places where the skin is broken or inflamed, a sense already found in late Old English.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The adverb, grievously (''sore afraid''), was Old English sāre and has mostly given way to ''sorely'', though its German cognate sehr is the usual word for “very”.^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) The slang sense, angry or irritated, is recorded by 1738.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 825 – bodily pain (noun).^(OED 1989)

+ * before 899 – painful (adjective).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1000 – a sore spot on the body.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1738 – angry (slang).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Painful or tender to the touch.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Feeling physical pain; [[ache|alt=aching]].^(AHD)

+ # ''(informal)'' Angry or resentful.^(Collins 2023)^(Etymonline)

+ # Causing distress or annoyance: ''a sore point''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(literary)'' Urgent or severe: ''in sore need''.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An open or painful place on the skin, such as a [[wound]] or [[ulcer]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A source of pain or [[irritation]].^(AHD)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # ''(archaic)'' Sorely.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[soreness]]

+ * [[sorehead]]

+ * [[unsore]]

+ * [[sorely]]

+ * [[bedsore]]

+ * [[eyesore]]

+ * [[footsore]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sorry]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}