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vex
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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See also: VEX
English
Etymology
From Middle English vexen, from Old French vexer, from Latin vexāre (“disturb, agitate, annoy”). Doublet of quake. Displaced native Old English dreċċan and gremman.
Pronunciation
Verb
vex (third-person singular simple present vexes, present participle vexing, simple past and past participle vexed or (archaic) vext)
- (transitive) To annoy, irritate.
- Synonyms: agitate, irk, irritate; see also Thesaurus:annoy
- Billy's professor was vexed by his continued failure to improve his grades.
- 1980, AA book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 164:
- 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.
- (transitive) To cause (mental) suffering to; to distress.
- Synonyms: afflict, grame, torment; see also Thesaurus:vex
- 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 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!
- 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XLI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 64:
- 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.
- (transitive, now rare) To trouble aggressively, to harass.
- Synonyms: beset, hassle; see also Thesaurus:pester
- 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts xij:[1], folio clxxj, verso:
- In that tyme Herode the kynge layed hondes on certayne of the congregaciõ, to vexe them.
- (transitive, rare) To twist, to weave.
- 1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis: The Year of Wonders, 1666. […], London: […] Henry Herringman, […], →OCLC, (please specify the stanza number):
- some English wool, vexed in a Belgian loom
- (intransitive, obsolete) To be irritated; to fret.
- 1613, George Chapman, The Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois:
- Wake when thou would'st wake, fear nought, vex for nought
- (transitive) To toss back and forth; to agitate; to disquiet.
- 1725, Homer, “Book IV”, in [Elijah Fenton], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume I, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC:
- White curl the waves, and the vexed ocean roars.
Quotations
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:vex.
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
- → Welsh: becso
Translations
to annoy
|
to distress; to cause mental suffering
|
rare, archaic: to trouble aggressively
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
|
Noun
vex (plural vexes)
References
- Douglas Harper (2001–2025), “vex”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
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Middle English
Etymology 1
Noun
vex
- alternative form of wax (“wax”)
Etymology 2
Verb
vex
- alternative form of vexen
Old Norse
Verb
vex
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