c. 1200, "acute bodily or mental suffering," from Old French anguisse, angoisse "choking sensation, distress, anxiety, rage" (12c.), from Latin angustia (plural angustiae) "tightness, straitness, narrowness;" figuratively "distress, difficulty," from ang(u)ere "to throttle, torment" (from PIE root *angh- "tight, painfully constricted, painful").
late 14c., "full of anguish," past-participle adjective from anguish (v.). From c. 1800 as "expressing anguish."
(obsolete) "full of wrath," also "anxious," early 13c., from Old French angoissos "anxious, worried, distressed; difficult; painful," from angoisse "distress, anxiety, rage" (see anguish (n.)). Related: Anguishously.
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "tight, painfully constricted, painful."
It forms all or part of: agnail; anger; angina; angry; angst; anguish; anxious; hangnail; quinsy.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit amhu- "narrow," amhah "anguish;" Armenian anjuk "narrow;" Lithuanian ankštas "narrow;" Greek ankhein "to squeeze," ankhone "a strangling;" Latin angere "to throttle, torment;" Old Irish cum-ang "straitness, want;" Old English enge "narrow, painful," Old Norse angra "to grieve, vex, distress," Gothic aggwus "narrow."
c. 1300, "the inflicting of torture," also "state of great suffering, pain, distress," from Old French torment "torture, pain, anguish, suffering distress" (11c., Modern French tourment), from Latin tormentum "twisted cord, sling; clothes-press; instrument for hurling stones," also "instrument of torture, a rack," figuratively "anguish, pain, torment," from torquere "to twist" (from PIE root *terkw- "to twist").
"cross-shaped, having the form of a cross with equal arms," 1826, from Modern Latin cruciatus, from Latin crux (genitive crucis) "cross" (see crux (n.)). Obsolete meaning "tormented" is 1530s, from Latin cruciat-, past participle stem of cruciare "cause pain or anguish to," literally "crucify," from crux. Related: Cruciately; cruciation.