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Angry, a word that has totally changed meaning

2021-08-18T10:01:09.432Z


What definition of "nervous" is given in our first dictionaries? A meaning very far from that of today ...


What did "angry" mean

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Pissed off.

Weaken a lot.

Who says that?

Richelet in his French Dictionary in 1680. This is a strange inconsistency.

Isn't it precisely the characteristic of such a verb to correspond to the fact of "exciting a lot"?

In fact, not until the 19th century.

We can quote Voltaire who, in his tragedy Mérope, made his character of Narbas implore God to "restore strength to his angry arms" or, after him, Mérimée who criticized Louis XIV for having "pissed off his nobility".

In their day, when you're pissed off, you're tired - literally, nerve-racked.

To read also: I have the seum!

Where does this word come from?

What is the origin of the word angry?

So, starting from the meaning of the verb in the Grand Siècle, it seems logical to read in the dictionaries of the 21st century that the word enervate comes from the classical Latin enervare (to withdraw the nerves).

But how did we go from a state of lethargy to one of excitement in a few hundred years?

Originally, in the 13th century, those who are angry are therefore deprived of energy.

It is even literally

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Source: lefigaro

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