wroth
adjUK /ɹəʊθ/ · US /ɹɔθ/
Etymology From Middle English wroth, wrooth, from Old English wrāþ, from Proto-Germanic *wraiþaz (“cruel”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyt- (“to turn”). Akin to Saterland Frisian wreed (“haughty; proud”), Old Saxon wrēd (“evil”) (Dutch wreed (“cruel”)), Old High German reid (“cruel”), Old Norse reiðr (“angry”) (Danish vred, Swedish vred).
- But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 4:5:
- You behold, Sir, how he waxeth Wroth at your Abode here.1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume II, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, page 289:
4 more examples
- And to be wroth with one we love, / Doth work like madness in the brain.1816, S[amuel] T[aylor] Coleridge, “(please specify the page)”, in Christabel: Kubla Khan, a Vision: The Pains of Sleep, London: […] John Murray, […], by William Bulmer and Co. […], →OCLC:
- But in the meantime Robin Hood and his band lived quietly in Sherwood Forest, without showing their faces abroad, for Robin knew that it would not be wise for him to be seen in the neighborhood of Nottingham, those in authority being very wroth with him.1883, Howard Pyle, chapter V, in The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood […], New York, N.Y.: […] Charles Scribner’s Sons […], →OCLC:
- At this Sir Launcelot was very wroth; for he could not abide seeing a fellow-knight of the Round Table treated with such disregard as that which Sir Gaheris suffered at the hands of Sir Turquine; […]1905, Howard Pyle, The Story of the Champions of the Round Table, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, page 48:
- Business men are learning that it pays to be friendly to strikers. For example, when two thousand five hundred employees in the White Motor Company's plant struck for higher wages and a union shop, Robert F. Black, the president, didn't wax wroth and condemn, and threaten and talk of tyranny and Communists. He actually praised the strikers. He published an advertisement in the Cleveland papers, complimenting them on "the peaceful way in which they laid down their tools."1936, Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Part 3, Chapter 4:
- Derived terms
- wood-wroth
- Related terms
- wrath