OldNorse for 'grief,' from PIE 'tight' — the same root of constriction behind 'anxiety,' 'anguish,' 'angina,' and 'angst.'
Definition
A strong feeling of displeasure and antagonism.
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Old Norse13th centurywell-attested
From Middle English 'anger' (distress, affliction), from OldNorse 'angr' (grief, sorrow, trouble), from Proto-Germanic *angraz (narrow, painful), from PIE *h₂enǵʰ- ('tight, narrow, constricted'). The semantic evolution is physically grounded: tightness → distress → grief → rage. The PIE root produced Latin 'angustus' (narrow—giving 'anguish,' 'anxiety'), Greek 'ánkhein' (to squeeze, to strangle), and
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'Anger,' 'anxiety,' 'anguish,' 'angina,' and 'angst' allcome from PIE *h₂enǵʰ- (tight, narrow). Anger is constriction felt as rage. Anxiety is constriction felt as worry. Anguish is constriction felt as grief. Angina is literal chest constriction. Angst is existential constriction. Five
the same root. This etymological family reveals that Indo-European speakers conceptualised negative emotion as physical compression—a mapping that cognitive linguistics now calls the ANGER IS PRESSURE metaphor. Key roots: *h₂enǵʰ- (Proto-Indo-European: "tight, narrow, painful, constricted").