Distraught
/dɪˈstrɔːt/noun
Deeply agitated, distressed, or mentally overwhelmed.
Did you know?Distraught is a historical past participle of the old verb distract, and its original sense was tied to being drawn apart or mentally scattered, not just emotionally upset.
Etymological Timeline
Late Middle English
English
distraught
“drawn apart; distracted; mentally scattered”
Middle English
English
distracten
“to draw apart; divert the mind”
Late Latin
Latin
distractus
“drawn apart, separated”
Latin
Latin
distrahere
“to pull apart, separate”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*tragh-
“to drag, draw, pull”