'Remorse' is Latin for 'biting back' — conscience gnawing at the soul. German says the same: 'Gewissensbiss.'
From Old French 'remors' and directly from Medieval Latin 'remorsum,' noun use of the past participle of Latin 'remordēre' (to bite back, to torment), a compound of 're-' (back, again) and 'mordēre' (to bite). The Latin 'mordēre' descends from PIE *merd- (to bite, to rub away), which also yielded Sanskrit मृदनाति (mṛdanāti, he crushes) and Greek σμερδαλέος (smerdaléos, terrible, fearful). The metaphor is visceral: remorse is conscience biting back
'Remorse' means 'biting back' — conscience with teeth. German independently created the same metaphor: 'Gewissensbiss' is literally 'conscience-bite.' And 'mordant' (a biting chemical or wit), 'morsel' (a small bite), and 'mortgage' (death-grip, or a pledge that 'bites' until paid) all share the same biting root.
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