entry
sorrow
/ˈsɑːroʊ/Deep sadness caused by loss, suffering, or regret
From Germanic, ultimately Proto-Indo-European sorg (worry).
from Proto-Indo-European *swergʰ- (“watch over, worry; be ill, suffer”) (compare Old Irish serg (“sickness”), Tocharian...
from Proto-Germanic *surgō (compare West Frisian soarch, Dutch zorg, German Sorge, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian sorg)
from Old English sorg "grief, regret, trouble, care, pain, anxiety,"
+1 more sourcefrom Middle English sorwe, sorow, sorewe
Word Ancestry
from Proto-Indo-European *swergʰ- (“watch over, worry; be ill, suffer”) (compare Old Irish serg (“sickness”), Tocharian...
from Proto-Germanic *surgō (compare West Frisian soarch, Dutch zorg, German Sorge, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian sorg)
from Old English sorg "grief, regret, trouble, care, pain, anxiety,"
+1 more sourcefrom Middle English sorwe, sorow, sorewe
Long before sorrow became an English feeling, its ancestor described the bodily experience of being unwell and the mental experience of being unable to stop worrying. Old English sorg could cover an entire storm cloud of trouble: grief, anxiety, pain, and care. The same Germanic family still sits plainly in German Sorge and Dutch zorg, both meaning “care” or “concern”—a reminder that care and sorrow once shared much more emotional territory than they do today. In the Middle English period, scribes wrote sorwe, sorow, and sorewe, gradually steering the form toward sorrow. And despite the tempting resemblance, sorrow is not historically related to sore or sorry; the family tree is stranger than the spelling suggests, with sickness and worry standing at its ancient root.
The Story
Long before sorrow became an English feeling, its ancestor described the bodily experience of being unwell and the mental experience of being unable to stop worrying. Old English sorg could cover an entire storm cloud of trouble: grief, anxiety, pain, and care. The same Germanic family still sits plainly in German Sorge and Dutch zorg, both meaning “care” or “concern”—a reminder that care and sorrow once shared much more emotional territory than they do today. In the Middle English period, scribes wrote sorwe, sorow, and sorewe, gradually steering the form toward sorrow. And despite the tempting resemblance, sorrow is not historically related to sore or sorry; the family tree is stranger than the spelling suggests, with sickness and worry standing at its ancient root.
Modern Usage
Extreme helplessness, despair, or mental suffering
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entries describing overwhelming despair and mental pain
Kin & Kindred
From 'sorg'·worry, sickness, grief, or suffering
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Urban Dictionary
Wiktionary