sorry English · revision 3511

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725 (Old English sārig, Beowulf)|origins=gem-pro *sairiga-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈsɒr.i/, US /ˈsɑːr.i/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|sori]] (earlier [[m|enm|sari]]), [[inh|ang|sārig|t=distressed, grieved, full of sorrow]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) formed from [[m|ang|sār|t=pain, sore]], the source of [[sore]], with the suffix [[m|ang|-ig]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000)^(MWU 2024) Etymonline reconstructs [[gem-pro|*sairiga-|t=painful]].^(Etymonline) Its cognates include [[osx|sērag]] and [[goh|sērag]].^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) The SOED and Etymonline note that the change and shortening of the vowel, from a to o, came by association with the unrelated word [[sorrow]].^(SOED 2002)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Pained at heart, distressed, full of grief: Old English ''sārig'', about 725 in ''Beowulf'',^(Barnhart 1988) or about 888.^(OED 1989) Middle English ''sari'' appears in 1114.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Etymonline notes that Old English ''sārig'' is not found in the physical sense of ''sore''.^(Etymonline) ''Sorry for'' something is late Old English.^(Etymonline) “Repentant, remorseful” is from about 1200,^(Etymonline) and “causing distress, grievous” from before 1225.^(OED 1989) “Wretched, worthless, poor”, as in ''a sorry sight'', is from about 1250.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) ''Word Origins'' traces the weakening of the sense from “full of grief” to “sad in sympathy”, then “full of regret”, and finally a simple apology by the mid-19th century;^(Cresswell 2021) Etymonline finds ''sorry'' alone as an apology, short for ''I'm sorry'', suggested by 1834.^(Etymonline) ''Sorry about that'' was popularized in the mid-1960s by the US television show ''Get Smart''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English ''sārig'' (''Beowulf'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1114 – Middle English ''sari''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – repentant.^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1225 – grievous.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1250 – wretched, worthless.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1834 – ''sorry!'' as an apology.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-1960s – ''sorry about that''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Feeling sympathy, pity or regret.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Worthless, inferior or pitiful: ''a sorry excuse''.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ # ''(archaic)'' Causing grief; [[grievous]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Interjection===

+ # Used to apologize, or to ask someone to repeat something.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sorrily]]

+ * [[sorriness]]

+ * [[unsorry]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sorrow]]

+ * [[sorrowful]]

+ * [[sore]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In dialect, ''sorry'' is also a familiar form of address to a man or boy, an alteration of ''sirrah'', from the late 18th century.^(SOED 2002)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}