Origin and history of rage

rage(n.)

c. 1300, "madness, insanity; fit of frenzy; rashness, foolhardiness, intense or violent emotion, anger, wrath; fierceness in battle; violence" (of storms, fire, etc.), from Old French rage, raige "spirit, passion, rage, fury, madness" (11c.), from Medieval Latin rabia, from Latin rabies "madness, rage, fury," related to rabere "be mad, rave" (compare rabies, which originally had this sense). This is said by some sources to be from PIE *rebh- "violent, impetuous" (source also of Old English rabbian "to rage"), but de Vaan finds this uncertain and sees no convincing etymology.

Similarly, Welsh (cynddaredd) and Breton (kounnar) words for "rage, fury" originally meant "hydrophobia" and are compounds based on the word for "dog" (Welsh ci, plural cwn; Breton ki).

It is attested from late 14c. in the sense of "fit of carnal lust or sexual desire." In 15c.-16c. it also could mean "rabies." Other Middle English senses, now obsolete, include "come to a boil; grieve, mourn, lament; flirt, make love." The rage "fashion, vogue" dates from 1785.

rage(v.)

mid-13c., ragen, "to play, romp," from rage (n.). Original sense now obsolete. Meanings "be furious; speak passionately; go mad" are attested from early 14c. Of things "be violently driven or agitated," from 1530s. Related: Raged; raging.

also from mid-13c.

Entries linking to rage

rabies(n.)

"extremely fatal infectious disease of dogs, humans, and many other mammals," 1590s, from Latin rabies "madness, rage, fury," related to rabere "be mad, rave" (see rage (v.)). The mad-dog disease sense was a secondary meaning of the Latin noun. Known as hydrophobia (q.v.) in humans. Related: Rabietic.

arse-smart

also ars-smart, the herb Persicaria hydropiper (formerly Polygonum hydropiper), early 14c., from arse + smart (n.) in the "pain" sense. The herb also formerly was called culrage (early 14c.) and now is often smartweed (1786).

The arse smart name is a direct translation of the Old French cul rage, from Old French cul (see tutu) + rage (see rage), which is said to be from Latin culli rabies, but this term is apparently unattested. The French word might be a folk etymology.

Trends of rage

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to explore

ramp
1778, "slope," from French rampe, a back-formation from Old French verb ramper "to climb, scale, mount;" see ramp (v.). Meaning "road on or off a major highway" is from 1952, American English. Older sense (now obsolete or archaic) was "a leap, spring, bound" (1670s); earlier stil
storm
Old English storm "tempest, violent disturbance of the atmosphere," often accompanied by high winds, rain, etc.; also "onrush, attack; tumult; disturbance," from Proto-Germanic *sturmaz "storm" (source also of Old Norse stormr, Old Saxon, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch, Dutch st
passion
c. 1200, "the sufferings of Christ on the Cross; the death of Christ," from Old French passion "Christ's passion, physical suffering" (10c.), from Late Latin passionem (nominative passio) "suffering, enduring," from past-participle stem of Latin pati "to endure, undergo, experien
fury
late 14c., "fierce passion," from Old French furie, fuire "rage, frenzy" (14c.), from Latin furia "violent passion, rage,...madness," from or related to furere "to rage, be mad," which is of uncertain origin....
livid
The sense of "furiously angry" (1912) is from the notion of being livid with rage....Rage makes some dark-red-faced; purple with rage is not uncommon in old novels (" 'My money! ye pirate!...And he advanced upon him purple with rage, and shot out his long threatening arm, and brown fingers working in the air.")...while it makes others go pale, also a figure in old novels ("At this juncture, the door opened, and, pale with rage, her...
alyssum
perhaps the neuter of adjective alyssos "curing madness," from a- "not, without" (see a- (3)) + lyssa "madness, martial rage...
iracund
"angry, inclined to wrath," 1707, from Late Latin iracundus, from ira "anger, wrath, rage, passion" (see ire (n.))....
ire
c. 1300, from Old French ire "anger, wrath, violence" (11c.), from Latin ira "anger, wrath, rage, passion," from PIE root *eis- (1), forming various words denoting passion (source also of Greek hieros "filled with the divine, holy," oistros "gadfly," originally "thing causing mad
desire
"to wish or long for, express a wish to obtain," c. 1200, desiren, from Old French desirrer (12c.) "wish, desire, long for," from Latin desiderare "long for, wish for; demand, expect," the original sense perhaps being "await what the stars will bring," from the phrase de sidere "
reside
late 15c., residen, "to remain at a place," from Old French resider (15c.) and directly from Latin residere "sit down, settle; remain behind, rest, linger; be left," from re- "back, again" (see re-) + sedere "to sit" (from PIE root *sed- (1) "to sit"). The meaning "to dwell perma

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