aggravate
/ˈæɡ.rə.veɪt/
verb
Origin
Latin
aggravare — to make heavy
Overview
Meaning Now
- To make a problem, injury, or offense worse or more serious.
- To annoy or exasperate someone, especially persistently.
Literal older meaning
to add weight or burden to
Language path
Latin → Old French → English
Earliest form
aggravate
Earliest period
16th century
Journey
The verb initially meant strictly 'to increase the gravity or seriousness of something.' Its informal usage meaning 'to annoy' or 'to irritate' was heavily criticized by grammarians throughout the 18th and 19th centuries as a corruption, though it has since become standard in both British and American English.
Evolution
- Latin
aggravare
“to make heavy”
From ad- 'to' + gravare 'make heavy'
- Old French
aggraver
“to make heavier, to burden”
- Middle English
aggravate
“to increase the gravity or seriousness of”
- Modern English
aggravate
“to annoy”
Common usage developed in the 17th century.
Connections
Word parts
ad-
prefix
to
grav
root
heavy
-ate
suffix
verb-forming suffix
Related across languages
French
aggraver
to aggravate
Spanish
agravar
to aggravate
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Related to aggravate
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.