Changes

"[[Worry]]" itself is an interesting word, one that has traveled far from its [[origins]]. When "worry" first appeared in [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._600-1100.09THE_OLD_ENGLISH.2C_OR_ANGLO-SAXON_PERIOD Old English] (as "wrygan"), it meant, not "to fret," but "to strangle" (putting a whole new [[light]] on "put your worries behind you"). That grisly meaning of "worry" softened a bit over the subsequent centuries, first to "bite and shake" (as dogs "worry" their rubber toys today), then "to harass or vex," until finally arriving at its [[modern]] [[meaning]] of "to make (or to be) persistently anxious" around 1822.

"[[Worry]]" itself is an interesting word, one that has traveled far from its [[origins]]. When "worry" first appeared in [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._600-1100.09THE_OLD_ENGLISH.2C_OR_ANGLO-SAXON_PERIOD Old English] (as "wrygan"), it meant, not "to fret," but "to strangle" (putting a whole new [[light]] on "put your worries behind you"). That grisly meaning of "worry" softened a bit over the subsequent centuries, first to "bite and shake" (as dogs "worry" their rubber toys today), then "to harass or vex," until finally arriving at its [[modern]] [[meaning]] of "to make (or to be) persistently anxious" around 1822.

"Wart," on the other hand, has meant "a small excrescence on the skin" since it appeared in [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._600-1100.09THE_OLD_ENGLISH.2C_OR_ANGLO-SAXON_PERIOD Old English] from a Germanic [[root]]. Several centuries of [[development]] gave "wart" a variety of figurative [[meanings]], including that of "a [[defect]] or unattractive feature" (as in the phrase "warts and all") and, perhaps [[inevitably]], "an annoying, obnoxious or insignificant person" in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_century 19th century].

"Wart," on the other hand, has meant "a small excrescence on the skin" since it appeared in [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._600-1100.09THE_OLD_ENGLISH.2C_OR_ANGLO-SAXON_PERIOD Old English] from a Germanic [[root]]. Several centuries of [[development]] gave "wart" a variety of figurative [[meanings]], including that of "a [[defect]] or unattractive feature" (as in the phrase "warts and all") and, perhaps [[inevitably]], "an annoying, obnoxious or insignificant person" in the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_century 19th century].

Thus the [[stage]] is set for decoding "worry wart" as "a person who annoys others by worrying loudly and constantly over nearly [[everything]]." The earliest use of the phrase in print found so far is from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956 1956], although an earlier form, "worryguts," had been popular in Britain since the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930's 1930s]. But "worry wart" became a household [[standard]] when it was used as the name of a recurrent character in "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_Our_Way Out Our Way]," a popular newspaper comic strip drawn by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._Williams_(cartoonist) James R. Williams] from 1922 to 1957. Oddly enough, Williams' "Worry Wart" was a young boy who caused [[worry]] in others, rather than being [[plague]]d by worry himself.[http://www.word-detective.com/0807B.html]

Thus the [[stage]] is set for decoding "worry wart" as "a person who annoys others by worrying loudly and constantly over nearly [[everything]]." The earliest use of the phrase in print found so far is from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956 1956], although an earlier form, "worryguts," had been popular in Britain since the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930's 1930s]. But "worry wart" became a household [[standard]] when it was used as the name of a recurrent character in "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_Our_Way Out Our Way]," a popular newspaper comic strip drawn by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._Williams_(cartoonist) James R. Williams] from 1922 to 1957. Oddly enough, Williams' "Worry Wart" was a young boy who caused [[worry]] in others, rather than being [[plague]]d by worry himself.[https://www.word-detective.com/0807B.html]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936 1936]

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936 1936]

==Definition==

==Definition==

A worry wart in an office environment, for example, may spend most of his or her [[time]] fretting over getting laid off or fired. While the actual [[chances]] of a worry wart actually [[becoming]] unemployed may be remote at best, a neurotic employee often seeks out [[advice]] from co-workers on how to handle his or her [[inevitable]] dismissal. Others may worry excessively about job [[performance]] or customer [[complaints]] or minor [[conflicts]] with their superiors.

A worry wart in an office environment, for example, may spend most of his or her [[time]] fretting over getting laid off or fired. While the actual [[chances]] of a worry wart actually [[becoming]] unemployed may be remote at best, a neurotic employee often seeks out [[advice]] from co-workers on how to handle his or her [[inevitable]] dismissal. Others may worry excessively about job [[performance]] or customer [[complaints]] or minor [[conflicts]] with their superiors.

A [[parent]] described as a ''worry wart'' may have irrational fears about their children's [[safety]], causing him or her to take elaborate [[security]] steps in order to overprotect a child. News reports of a distant [[tragedy]] involving a child may cause a worry wart to install a security fence around the entire yard or to forbid a child from leaving the [[home]] at all without close supervision. What may constitute a minor [[childhood]] [[injury]] to some [[parents]] may represent a major medical [[emergency]] to a worry wart.[http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-worry-wart.htm]

A [[parent]] described as a ''worry wart'' may have irrational fears about their children's [[safety]], causing him or her to take elaborate [[security]] steps in order to overprotect a child. News reports of a distant [[tragedy]] involving a child may cause a worry wart to install a security fence around the entire yard or to forbid a child from leaving the [[home]] at all without close supervision. What may constitute a minor [[childhood]] [[injury]] to some [[parents]] may represent a major medical [[emergency]] to a worry wart.[https://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-worry-wart.htm]

[[Category: Psychology]]

[[Category: Psychology]]