stress

Where does the word "stress" come from? It comes from Latin stringere, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).

Stress’s story begins in Latin: stringere meant “to draw tight, to bind.” The root of 'strain', 'strict' and 'stringent'. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as estresse. Narrowness, oppression, from a shortened form related to stringere. It reached English by 1300s as stress. Settled as the English word for mental or emotional strain, shortened from distress. Today, stress means mental or emotional strain, or physical force exerted on an object.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient stringere "to draw tight, to bind", the root of 'strain', 'strict' and 'stringent'.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval estresse "narrowness, oppression", narrowness, oppression, from a shortened form related to stringere.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1300s stress "mental or emotional strain, or physical pressure", settled as the English word for mental or emotional strain, shortened from distress.