English
cringe
Cringe comes from Middle English crengen ‘to bend in a haughty manner’, from Proto-Germanic *krangijaną ‘to cause to fall’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *grenǵʰ- ‘to turn’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*grenǵʰ-1‘to turn’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kringaną1‘to turn, fall, yield’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*krangijaną1‘to cause to fall’reconstructedcausative of *kringaną
- Old Englishc. 450–1150*crenġan1reconstructed
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500crengen1‘to bend in a haughty manner’
- Englishearliest quotation 1599cringe1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English cringe
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, Thomas Nashe, Nashes Lenten Stuffe: “[H]ow thriue you, howe periſh you, and they cringing…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*grenǵʰ-Wiktionary, English cringe‘to turn’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kringanąWiktionary, English cringe‘to turn, fall, yield’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*krangijanąWiktionary, English cringe‘to cause to fall’reconstructedcausative of *kringaną
- Old Englishc. 450–1150*crenġanWiktionary, English cringereconstructed
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500crengenWiktionary, English cringe‘to bend in a haughty manner’
- Englishearliest quotation 1599cringeWiktionary, English cringe. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, Thomas Nashe, Nashes Lenten Stuffe: “[H]ow thriue you, howe periſh you, and they cringing…”
The story
The verb is derived from Middle English crengen (‘to bend in a haughty manner; to condescend’) [and other forms], from Old English *crenġan, *crenċġan, *crenċan (‘to cause to fall or turn’) from Proto-Germanic *krangijaną (‘to cause to fall; to cause to turn’), causative of Proto-Germanic *kringaną, *krinkaną (‘to fall; to turn; to yield’) (> Old English crin(c)gan (‘to yield; to cringe; to fall; to die, perish’)), from Proto-Indo-European *grenǵʰ- (‘to turn’)). The causative suffix is from *-janą (suffix forming causatives with the sense ‘to cause to do (the action of the verb)’ from strong verbs). The English word is cognate with Danish krænge (‘to turn inside out, evert’), Dutch krengen (‘to careen, veer’) and Dutch kring (‘circle’), Scots crenge, creenge, creinge, crienge (‘to cringe; to shrug’), Swedish kränga (‘to careen; to heel, lurch; to toss’), and West Frisian kringe (‘to pinch; to poke; to push; to insist, urge’); and is a doublet of crinkle.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *grenǵʰ- ‘to turn’
through Proto-Germanic *kringaną ‘to turn, fall, yield’
Today it means
verb To cower, flinch, recoil, shrink, or tense, as in disgust, embarrassment, or fear.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “cringe”. 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 *grenǵʰ- / cringe