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Origin and history of sorry

sorry(adj.)

Middle English sori, from Old English sarig "distressed, grieved, full of sorrow" (not found in the physical sense of "sore"), from Proto-Germanic *sairiga- "painful" (source also of Old Saxon serag, Middle Dutch seerigh "sore; sad, sorry," Dutch zeerig "sore, full of sores," Old High German serag, Swedish sårig "sore, full of sores"), from *sairaz "pain" (physical and mental); related to *saira- "suffering, sick, ill" (see sore (adj.)).

The spelling shift from -a- to -o- is by influence of (unrelated) sorrow. Specifically as "repentant, remorseful, contrite" by c. 1200. The meaning "wretched, worthless, poor" is recorded by mid-13c. Simple sorry in an apologetic sense (short for I'm sorry) is suggested by 1834; the phrase sorry about that seems to have been popularized mid-1960s by U.S. TV show "Get Smart." To be sorry for (something) is in late Old English. Related: Sorrily; sorriness.

Entries linking to sorry

sore(adj.)

Middle English sore, from Old English sar "painful, grievous, aching, sad, wounding," influenced in meaning by Old Norse sarr "sore, wounded," from Proto-Germanic *sairaz "suffering, sick, ill" (source also of Old Frisian sar "painful," Middle Dutch seer, Dutch zeer "sore, ache," Old High German ser "painful," Gothic sair "pain, sorrow, travail"), which is perhaps from a PIE root *sai- "suffering" (source also of Old Irish saeth "pain, sickness"). Related: Sorely; soreness.

The slang meaning "angry, irritated" is recorded by 1738. Adverbial use, "painfully, so as to cause physical pain or injury" (as in sore afraid) is from Old English sare but has mostly died out (replaced by sorely), but adverbial use persists in the Modern German cognate sehr, the usual word for "very."

sorrow(n.)

Middle English sorwe, from Old English sorg "grief, regret, trouble, care, pain, anxiety," from Proto-Germanic *sorg-, which is perhaps from PIE *swergh- "to worry, be sick" (source also of Sanskrit surksati "cares for," Lithuanian sergu, sirgti "to be sick," Old Church Slavonic sraga "sickness," Old Irish serg "sickness"). Not considered to be connected etymologically with sore (adj.) or sorry. Germanic cognates include Old Saxon sorga, Old Norse sorg, Middle Dutch sorghe, Dutch zorg, Old High German soraga, German sorge, Gothic saurga.