Etymology Map
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Cringe

3 stages from Old English to English.

Today it means to shrink back in fear or embarrassment

Where does the word "cringe" come from? It comes from Old English cringan, passing through Middle English before entering English (1500s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
cringan
Old English · 700s-1000s
"to fall, yield"
in poems such as 'The Battle of Maldon' it meant to fall in battle
2
Stage 2 of 3
crengen
Middle English · 1200s
"to bend, cower"
came to mean to bend or cower
3
Stage 3 of 3
cringe
English · 1500s
"to shrink back"
much later, in the 2010s, internet slang made it an adjective meaning 'embarrassing'
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Read the full story

Cringe’s story begins in Old English: cringan meant “to fall, yield.” In poems such as 'The Battle of Maldon' it meant to fall in battle. By 1200s, the word had taken hold in Middle English as crengen. Came to mean to bend or cower. It reached English by 1500s as cringe. Much later, in the 2010s, internet slang made it an adjective meaning 'embarrassing'. Today, cringe means to shrink back in fear or embarrassment.