anxiety

Where does the word "anxiety" come from? It comes from Latin anxius, and was adopted directly into English (1520s).

Anxiety’s story begins in Latin: anxius meant “troubled, uneasy.” Troubled, uneasy, from angere (to choke, to torment). It reached English by 1520s as anxiety. Settled as the English word for a feeling of worry or unease. Today, anxiety means a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something uncertain.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient anxius "troubled, uneasy", troubled, uneasy, from angere (to choke, to torment).
2. Stage 2 · English · 1520s anxiety "a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease", settled as the English word for a feeling of worry or unease.