dolor
/ˈdoʊlər/
noun
Origin
Latin
dolere — to feel pain, to grieve
Overview
Meaning Now
- A state of great sorrow or distress; anguish.
- Physical pain or suffering (archaic or literary usage).
Literal older meaning
pain, grief, suffering
Language path
Proto-Indo-European → Latin → English
Earliest form
dolour
Earliest period
14th century
Journey
The term stems from the Latin root 'dolere,' which is deeply embedded in medical and philosophical terminology related to suffering. While common in Medieval English, it gradually became a literary or poetic term in modern English, often replaced by 'sorrow' or 'pain' in everyday language.
Evolution
- Proto-Indo-European
*del-
“to split, to hurt”
- Latin
dolor
“pain, grief”
- Old French
dolor
“grief, sorrow”
- Middle English
dolour
“sorrow, physical pain”
Introduced via Anglo-Norman/French
- Modern English
dolor
“deep distress”
American spelling variant; 'dolour' persists in British English
Connections
Word parts
dol-
root
to feel pain
-or
suffix
state or condition
Related across languages
French
douleur
pain, grief
Spanish
pain
Italian
dolore
pain, sorrow
Explore next
Related to dolor
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.