Meaning: The word anguish can be used both as a noun and as a verb. While the noun form of the word can be used to mean mental or physical pain or suffering, the verb form denotes being extremely distressed about something.
Origin: The noun form of the word has been in use from around 1200. It is derived from Old French anguisse, angoisse meaning “choking sensation, distress, anxiety which is from Latin angustia for “tightness, narrowness”. The verb form, meanwhile, has been around since the mid 14th Century. Even though the word has been around for centuries, its usage saw a steady decline from 1800 till around the 1950s. While its usage was steady from then till about the turn of the century, it has again seen an increase in usage since then.
Usage: The COVID-19 pandemic has left several families in anguish worldwide.
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