
[French, possibly from dialectal French chagraigner, to distress, become gloomy, from Old French graim, sorrowful, gloomy, of Germanic origin.]
WORD HISTORY The ultimate etymology of the word chagrin, which comes directly to us from French, is considered uncertain by many etymologists. At one time chagrin was thought to be the same word as shagreen, "a leather or skin with a rough surface," derived from French chagrin. The reasoning was that in French the word for this rough material, which was used to smooth and polish things, was extended to the notion of troubles that fret and annoy a person. It was later decided, however, that the sense "rough leather" and the sense "sorrow" each belonged to a different French word chagrin. Other etymologists have offered an alternative explanation, suggesting that the French word chagrin, "sorrow," is a loan translation of the German word Katzenjammer, "a hangover from drinking." A loan translation is a type of borrowing from another language in which the elements of a foreign word, as in Katzen, "cats," and Jammer, "distress, seediness," are assumed to be translated literally by corresponding elements in another language, in this case, chat, "cat," and grigner, "to grimace." The actual etymology is less colorful, with the word probably going back to a Germanic word, *gramī, meaning "sorrow, trouble." Chagrin is first recorded in English in 1656 in the now obsolete sense "anxiety, melancholy."
| cervical, certainty, certitude, ceremonial, ceremonious | |
| chairman, chairwoman, chairperson, chair, challenged, chamois |
noun
verb
Definition: displeasure
Antonyms: delight, gladness, happiness, joy, pleasure, triumph
v
Definition: cause displeasure
Antonyms: delight, make happy, please
An evil spirit believed in by European Gypsies. It was said to have the form of a hedgehog, to be yellow in color, and to be about a foot and a half in length. Heinrich von Wlislocki stated: "I am certain, that this creature is none other than the equally demoniac being called Harginn, still believed in by the inhabitants of Northwestern India. Horses were the special prey of the Chagrin, who rode them into a state of exhaustion, like the Guecubu of Chile."
When horses appeared to be sick and weary, with tangled manes and bathed in sweat, they were believed to have been attacked by chagrin during the night. When this was observed, they were tethered to a stake that had been rubbed with garlic juice, then a red thread was laid on the ground in the form of a cross, or else some of the hair of the animal was mixed with salt, meal, and the blood of a bat and cooked to bread, with which the hoof of the horse was smeared. The empty vessel containing the mixture was put in the trunk of a high tree while these words were uttered:
Tarry, pipkin, in this tree,
Till such time as full ye be.
I feel chagrin when I miss an appointment through no fault of my own.
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - ærgrelse
v. tr. - ærgre
Nederlands (Dutch)
teleurstellen, kwetsen, irriteren, teleurstelling, irritatie
Français (French)
n. - chagrin, dépit
v. tr. - chagriner
Deutsch (German)
n. - Enttäuschung, Kummer
v. - enttäuschen, bekümmern
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - στενοχώρια, δυσανασχέτηση
v. - θλίβω, πικραίνω
Italiano (Italian)
deludere, mortificare, delusione, disappunto
Português (Portuguese)
n. - vexame (m)
v. - envergonhar
Русский (Russian)
огорчать, огорчение
Español (Spanish)
n. - disgusto, desengaño, desilusión, contrariedad
v. tr. - disgustar, decepcionar, contrariar, mortificar
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - förtret
v. - förtreta
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
懊恼, 使懊恼, 使苦恼
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 懊惱
v. tr. - 使懊惱, 使苦惱
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 억울함
v. tr. - 억울하게 하다
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 無念
v. - くやしがらせる
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) غم, كدر (فعل) كدر, ازعج
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - צער, אכזבה, מפח-נפש, אכזב, ציער
v. tr. - גרם מפח-נפש, ציער, עינה
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