Etimology
From Middle English worien, werien, wirien, wirwen, wyryȝen (“to choke, strangle”), from Old English wyrġan, from Proto-Germanic *wurgijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *werǵʰ- (“bind, squeeze”). Cognate with Dutch worgen, wurgen, German würgen. Compare Latin urgere (“to press, push”), Sanskrit वृहति (vṛhati, “to tear out, pluck”), Lithuanian ver̃žti (“to string; squeeze”), Russian (poetic) отверза́ть (otverzátʹ, “to open”, literally “to untie”). Related to wring.
verb
worry (third-person singular simple present worries, present participle worrying, simple past and past participle worried)
(intransitive) To be troubled; to give way to mental anxiety or doubt.
(transitive) Disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress.
(transitive) To harass; to irritate or distress.
(transitive) To seize or shake by the throat, especially of a dog or wolf.
(transitive) To touch repeatedly, to fiddle with.
(transitive, obsolete, Scotland) To strangle.
Examples
Stop worrying about your test; it’ll be fine.
Your tone of voice worries me.
That worries the government, which fears that environmental activism could become the foundation for more general political opposition.
The President was worried into military action by persistent advisors.
Your dog’s been worrying sheep again.
This is the Dog, that worried the Cat, that killed the Rat, that ate the Malt, that lay in the Houſe that Jack built.
So what if I wanted to touch my nose to the windshield? Who was it hurting? Why was it that he could repeatedly worry his change and bite his lower lip without the threat of punishment?
No stories, no arguments. He just worries his prayer beads.
We read that "one John Brugh, a notorious warlock in the parochin of Fossoquhy, by the space of thirty-six years, was worried at a stake and burned, 1643."
Related words
synonyms
(be troubled mentally): fret, (stress)
(trouble someone mentally): concern, fret, preoccupy, vex
noun
worry (countable and uncountable, plural worries)
A strong feeling of anxiety.
An instance or cause of such a feeling.
A person who causes worry.
Examples
I'm afflicted by worry throughout the night.
My main worry is that I'll miss the train.
They could never make him speak a word, although he was old enough, in short, he was a perfect worry night and day.