Etymograph

English

agonize

Agonize comes from French agoniser ‘to be dying (slowly)’, from Ancient Greek ἀγωνίζομαι ‘to fight, contend’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- ‘to drive’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-1‘to drive’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éǵeti1‘to be driving’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ágō1‘to lead, to guide’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEᾰ̓́γω2ắgō‘to lead’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀγών3‘a contest, competition’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀγωνίζομαι4agōnízomai‘to fight, contend’
  7. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEagonizare4
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentagoniser4‘to be dying (slowly)’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1733agonize4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄγω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀγών, which cites Beekes
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀγωνίζομαι
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English agonize
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1733, Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man. […]: “His Touch, if tremblingly alive all o’er, / To…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄγω‘to drive’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éǵetiWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄγω‘to be driving’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*ágōWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄγω‘to lead, to guide’reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEᾰ̓́γωWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀγών, which cites Beekesắgō‘to lead’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀγώνWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἀγωνίζομαι‘a contest, competition’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀγωνίζομαιWiktionary, English agonizeagōnízomai‘to fight, contend’
  7. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEagonizareWiktionary, English agonize
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentagoniserWiktionary, English agonize‘to be dying (slowly)’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1733agonizeWiktionary, English agonize. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1733, Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man. […]: “His Touch, if tremblingly alive all o’er, / To…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- ‘to drive’

suggest, register, reaction, actively, essay, transaction, acre, gesture, radioactive, digest, inactive, congestion, belligerent, agrarian, retroactive, unambiguous, hyperactivity, progesterone, ingest, gestation, reagent, agitate, ambiguously, samaj, agger, gerund, gestion, 131 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti ‘to be driving’

act, action, active, activity, actual, agency, actor, agent, agenda, activate, ambiguous, squat, ambiguity, assay, agile, agility, agitation, radium, actuator, cogent, axiomatic, actuation, inexact, exigent, actuate, 113 more

through Proto-Hellenic *ágō ‘to lead, to guide’

strategy, axiom, stratagem, glucagon, 25 more

through Ancient Greek ἀγών ‘a contest, competition’

agony, antagonism, 10 more

through Ancient Greek ἀγωνίζομαι ‘to fight, contend’

antagonist, 4 more

Today it means

verb To writhe with agony; to suffer violent anguish.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “agonize”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek ἄγω, Ancient Greek ἀγών, Ancient Greek ἀγωνίζομαι. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- / agonize

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