Etymograph

English

vexing

Vexing comes from Middle English vexynge ‘harassment’, and goes back to vexen.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500vexen1
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500vexynge2‘harassment’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 2002vexing2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Middle English vexynge
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English vexing
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2002, Harold Bloom, American Women Poets: “Many unkindnesses as well as (one feels) many liberties…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500vexenWiktionary, Middle English vexynge
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500vexyngeWiktionary, English vexing‘harassment’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 2002vexingWiktionary, English vexing. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2002, Harold Bloom, American Women Poets: “Many unkindnesses as well as (one feels) many liberties…”

Formed from vex + -ing

Latin vexō ‘to shake or jolt violently’

Old French vexer

Middle English vexen ‘to afflict’

English vex

Linked words

through Middle English vexen

vex, 1 more

Today it means

verb Causing annoyance or pain; irritating.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “vexing”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Middle English vexynge. 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 / Middle English vexen / vexing

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