Etymograph

English

urge

Urge comes from Latin urgeō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEurgeō1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1589–1593urge1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English urge
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1589–1593, William Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona: “Vrge not my fathers anger (Eglamoure) / But thinke…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEurgeōWiktionary, English urge
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1589–1593urgeWiktionary, English urge. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1589–1593, William Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona: “Vrge not my fathers anger (Eglamoure) / But thinke…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *werǵʰ- ‘bind, squeeze’

worry, wary, warg, 1 more

Today it means

noun A strong desire to do something.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “urge”. 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 / Latin urgeō / urge

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