agitation
ˌædʒɪˈteɪʃən
noun
Origin
French
agitation — stirring; disturbance; unrest
Overview
Meaning Now
- a state of nervous, restless, or upset feeling
- a public or organized effort to cause social or political change; campaigning or advocacy
- the act of stirring or shaking something, especially in a chemical or physical process
Literal older meaning
a stirring or shaking
Language path
Latin → French → English
Earliest form
agitation
Earliest period
16th century
Journey
In English, agitation became especially important in political writing, where it referred to organized public pressure for reform. Later, it also developed the common psychological sense of anxious unrest and the technical sense of stirring a mixture.
Evolution
- Classical Latin
agitātiō
“driving about; stirring up”
Noun from the verb agitāre, frequentative of agere.
- Old French / Middle French
agitation
“stirring; disturbance; unrest”
Borrowed and adapted from Latin learned vocabulary.
- Early Modern English
agitation
“restless motion; disturbance; political urging”
Entered English as a learned borrowing, later broadening into psychological and political senses.
- Modern English
agitation
“nervous unrest; active campaigning; chemical stirring”
Current senses include emotional, social, and technical uses.
Connections
Word parts
agit
root
to drive, move, or stir
-ation
suffix
state, process, or action
Related across languages
French
stirring; unrest
Spanish
agitación
stirring; unrest
Italian
agitazione
stirring; unrest
Portuguese
agitação
stirring; unrest
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Related to agitation
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.