Irritate
/ˈɪr.ɪ.teɪt/noun
To annoy, provoke, or inflame someone or something.
Did you know?In its earliest English uses, “irritate” could mean to excite or provoke physically and emotionally, long before it narrowed mainly to everyday annoyance.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*reh₁-
“To reckon, count, or establish; a proposed ancestor connected with Latin forms involving judgment and settlement.”
Classical Latin
Latin
ratus
“Settled, fixed, established, or reckoned.”
Classical Latin
Latin
irritare
“To excite, provoke, stir up, or exasperate.”
Late Latin
Latin
irritatus
“Provoked, excited, or aroused; the past participle of irritare.”
16th Century
English
irritate
“To provoke, excite, or inflame; later, to annoy or cause physical inflammation.”
Modern English
English
irritate
“To annoy, provoke, or cause inflammation.”