Etymology
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trouble (v.)

c. 1200, from Old French trubler, metathesis of turbler, torbler "to trouble, disturb; make cloudy, stir up, mix" (11c.), from Vulgar Latin *turbulare, from Late Latin turbidare "to trouble, make turbid," from Latin turbidus (see turbid). Related: Troubled; troubling.

trouble (n.)

c. 1200, "agitation of the mind, emotional turmoil," from Old French truble, torble "trouble, disturbance" (12c.), from trubler/torbler (see trouble (v.)). From early 15c. as "a concern, a cause for worry;" 1590s as "something that causes trouble." Meaning "unpleasant relations with the authorities" is from 1550s. Related: Troubles (1510s). Trouble and strife as rhyming slang for "wife" is recorded from 1908.

Entries linking to trouble

turbid (adj.)

"muddy, foul with extraneous matter, thick, not clear," used of liquids having the lees disturbed or colors, 1620s, from Latin turbidus "muddy, full of confusion," from turbare "to confuse, bewilder," from turba "turmoil, crowd," which is of uncertain origin. De Vaan writes:

Turba seems most similar to [Greek syrbe, Attic tyrbe] 'noise, commotion', ... which are probably loanwords. In that case, Latin would have borrowed the word from a Greek dialect, or both Greek and Latin borrowed it from a third source. In view of the quite well-developed word family already in Plautus, which suggests that turba had been in the language for some time, the latter option seems preferable.

Related: Turbidly; turbidness.

troublemaker (n.)

also trouble-maker, 1843, from trouble (n.) + maker.

updated on February 18, 2014

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Dictionary entries near trouble

trot

troth

Trotskyite

trotter

troubadour

trouble

troubled

troublemaker

troubleshoot

troubleshooter

troublesome

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