anxiety English · revision 5112

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1525|origins=la anxietas}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /æŋˈzaɪ.ə.ti/, /æŋɡˈzaɪ.ə.ti/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is probably from [[la|ānxietās|t=anguish, solicitude]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from ānxius “uneasy, troubled in mind”, the source of [[anxious]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) French anxiété was used as a medical term from the 12th century, but it is not known whether English writers knew it.^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) It is related to [[anguish]] and [[angina]].^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Uneasiness or trouble of mind about something uncertain: about 1525, in the works of Sir Thomas More, according to the OED and Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) MWU dates its first known use to the 15th century.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As a medical condition of agitation and depression with a feeling of tightness in the chest it is from 1661.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Eager or solicitous desire to do something is from 1769.^(OED 1989) In psychiatry, a morbid state of excessive fear, it is from 1904.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) ''Age of Anxiety'' is from Auden's poem of 1947.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Old English had angsumnes and Middle English anxumnesse for anxiety.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1525 – uneasiness of mind.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1661 – a medical condition.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1769 – eager desire.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1904 – in psychiatry.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A feeling of worry and nervousness about something uncertain.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something that causes worry.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(psychiatry)'' A state of intense fear and [[apprehension]], often out of proportion to the threat.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A strong wish to do something: ''anxiety to please''.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[antianxiety]]

+ * [[separation anxiety]]

+ * [[anxiety neurosis]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[anxious]]

+ * [[anguish]]

+ * [[angina]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Anxiety, worry, care, concern and solicitude all refer to troubled states of mind, and anxiety suggests fear and apprehension, especially when these seem unrelated to a real cause.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}