vex
nounEtymology
Etymology tree Latin vexōbor. Old French vexerbor. Middle English vexen English vex From Middle English vexen, from Old French vexer, from Latin vexāre (“disturb, agitate, annoy”). Displaced native Old English dreċċan and gremman.
vex
verb/vɛks/
Etymology
Etymology tree Latin vexōbor. Old French vexerbor. Middle English vexen English vex From Middle English vexen, from Old French vexer, from Latin vexāre (“disturb, agitate, annoy”). Displaced native Old English dreċċan and gremman.
1
To annoy, irritate.
- Billy's professor was vexed by his continued failure to improve his grades.
- The first thing that greets you on entering the church is a notice asking you not to vex the goat, since it renders valuable service in keeping the churchyard tidy.1980, AA book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 164:
2
To cause (mental) suffering to; to distress.
- I will not again vex her ear with words of love, however true, however deep: ours is an evil destiny, and we may not control it!1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 151:
- I vex my heart with fancies dim: He still outstript me in the race; It was but unity of place That made me dream I rank’d with him.1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XLI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 64:
3
Archaic To trouble aggressively, to harass.
- In that tyme Herode the kynge layed hondes on certayne of the congregaciõ, to vexe them.1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts xij:[1], folio clxxj, verso:
4
Rare To twist, to weave.
- some English wool, vexed in a Belgian loom1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis: The Year of Wonders, 1666. […], London: […] Henry Herringman, […], →OCLC, (please specify the stanza number):
5
Obsolete To be irritated; to fret.
- Wake when thou would'st wake, fear nought, vex for nought1613, George Chapman, The Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois:
6
To toss back and forth; to agitate; to disquiet.
- White curl the waves, and the vexed ocean roars.1725, Homer, “Book IV”, in [Elijah Fenton], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume I, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC: