Remorse
/rɪˈmɔːrs/noun
A painful feeling of guilt or regret for wrongdoing.
Did you know?The word’s original Latin imagery was physical: wrongdoing was imagined as something that could bite the guilty person back from within.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*merd-
“To bite or gnaw”
Classical Latin
Latin
mordēre
“To bite”
Classical Latin
Latin
remordēre
“To bite back; figuratively, to torment or reproach”
Late Latin
Latin
remorsus
“A biting back; inner torment or regret”
12th–13th Century
Old French
remors
“Regret, anguish, or reproach of conscience”
14th Century
Middle English
remors
“Moral anguish or painful regret”
Modern English
English
remorse
“Deep regret or guilt over wrongdoing”