Vexed
/vɛkst/noun
Troubled, annoyed, or made anxious; also the past tense and past participle of vex.
Did you know?Vex comes from Latin vexare, meaning “to shake, jolt, or harass,” a forceful verb that originally evoked repeated physical disturbance before becoming emotional irritation in English.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*weǵʰ-
“to carry, move, or convey”
Latin
Latin
vehere
“to carry, transport”
Latin
Latin
vexāre
“to shake, jolt, harass, trouble repeatedly”
Old French
Old French
vexer
“to harass, annoy, torment”
Middle English
English
vexen
“to trouble, afflict, annoy”
Modern English
English
vexed
“troubled, annoyed, or made anxious”