angoisse French · revision 17608

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1130|origins=la angō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɑ̃.ɡwas/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''angoisse''' ''f'' (plural angoisses)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|anguisse]] (about 1130), then ''angoisse''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|anguisse]], [[inh|la|angustia|t=narrowness; narrow place; distress]], derived from [[m|la|angustus|t=narrow]], from [[m|la|angō|t=to squeeze, choke]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) In classical Latin the word was used mostly in the plural, for straits and difficulties, and Christian Latin gave it the sense “anguish”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) [[anxieux]] and [[angine]] belong to the same Latin family.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005) Cognate with [[it|angoscia]], [[pro|angoissa]], [[ca|angoixa]] and [[es|congoja]].^(REW 1935)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==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”.^(Littré 1873)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old French also used it for a narrow pass (12th–16th centuries), for embarrassment and difficulty, and even for violent anger.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) 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.^(DHLF 1992) ''Poire d'angoisse'' named a choke pear, an iron gag, and figuratively a bitter trial (Molière).^(GLLF 1989)^(Littré 1873) In the 20th century it took philosophical values (''angoisse existentielle''), linked with the translations of Kierkegaard, and familiar ones: ''c'est l'angoisse !''^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1130 – ''Anguisse''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 12th century – Anguish, distress.^(Littré 1873)

+ * 17th century – Considered an old word.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1751 – Anxiety as a tightening of the chest.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 20th century – Existential anguish.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Great [[m|en|anxiety|alt=anxiety]], a deep fear of a vague but imminent threat: ''passer une nuit d'angoisse'', ''crise d'angoisse''.^(Larousse)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(psychiatry)'' A painful state of alarm with bodily symptoms such as a tight throat or chest.^(Larousse)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(philosophy)'' Existential [[m|en|anguish]], [[m|en|angst]].^(Larousse)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(familiar)'' ''C'est l'angoisse'': it's awful.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''Poire d'angoisse'': a choke pear, an instrument of torture.^(GLLF 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[angoisser]]

+ * [[angoissant]]

+ * [[angoissé]]

+ * [[angoisseux]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[anxieux]]

+ * [[angine]]

+ * [[la|angustia]]

+ * [[en|anguish]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}