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Origin and history of struggle

struggle(v.)

late 14c., strogelen, "wrestle, grapple, contend physically," a word of obscure origin, probably a frequentative form with -el (3) (compare trample, wrestle), but the first element is uncertain.

According to OED, Skeat suggests Old Norse strugr "ill will," while others suggest a connection to Dutch struikelen, German straucheln "to stumble."

Middle English Compendium compares stroublen "disturb (someone), trouble, disquiet" (late 14c., short for distroublen, from Old French destroubler). Middle English tended to clip down such words to str-, as in stroublance, strublance (late 14c., from obsolete distroublance); stroy (c. 1200 from destroy), stroyer (c. 1300); sturb (early 13c., disturb); sturbance (mid-15c.).

Struggle is attested by early 15c. as "argue, debate." The sense gradually extended to "put forth effort, strive strenuously." Related: Struggled; struggling.

struggle(n.)

1690s, "violent effort, strenuous or strained exertion," from struggle (v.). As a verbal noun in the same sense, struggling is attested from late 14c. (strogeling).

also from 1690s

Entries linking to struggle

trample(v.)

late 14c., tramplen, "to walk heavily, stamp with one's foot or feet," a frequentative form of tramp (v.) with -el (3); or from or influenced by Middle Dutch tramperen, Low German trampeln. The transitive sense "beat down by continuously treading on" is from mid-15c. Related: Trampled; trampling. As a noun from c. 1600.

wrestle(v.)

Middle English wrestlen "engage in a grappling struggle, struggle in a hand-to-hand contest of strength and adroitness," or for sport or show, from Old English *wræstlian, frequentative of wræstan "to wrest" (see wrest) with -el (3).

Compare North Frisian wrassele, Middle Low German worstelen. The figurative sense of "labor" against difficulties, troubles, etc., is recorded by early 13c.; that of "deal with as a troublesome duty, devote oneself earnestly to" is from mid-15c. Related: Wrestled; wrestling.

-el(3)

derivational suffix, also -le, used mostly with verbs but originally also with nouns, "often denoting diminutive, repetitive, or intensive actions or events" [The Middle English Compendium], from Old English. Compare brastlian alongside berstan (see burst); nestlian (see nestle) alongside nistan). It is likely also in wrestle, trample, draggle, struggle, twinkle, also noddle "to make frequent nods" (1733), and Chapman (1607) has strapple "bind with a strap." To twangle (1550s) was "to twang (a musical instrument string) lightly or frequently." New formations in Middle English might be native formations (jostle from joust) with this or borrowings from Dutch.

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    scramble
    1580s (intransitive), "make one's way by clambering, etc., struggle or wriggle along," also "strive with others or jostle and grasp rudely for a share or for mastery;" a word of obscure origin, perhaps a nasalized variant of scrabble (v.) "to struggle; to scrape quickly." OED poi
    shin
    Middle English shin, from Old English scinu "fore part of the leg below the knee; shinbone," from Proto-Germanic *skino "thin piece" (source also of Dutch scheen, Middle Low German schene, Old High German scina "shin," German Schienbein "shin, shinbones"), from PIE root *skei- "t
    skin
    c. 1200, "animal hide" (usually dressed and tanned), from Old Norse skinn "animal hide, fur," from Proto-Germanic *skinth- (source also of rare Old English scinn, Old High German scinten, German schinden "to flay, skin;" German dialectal schind "skin of a fruit," Flemish schinde
    agonize
    Medieval Latin agonizare "to labor, strive, contend," also "be at the point of death," from Greek agōnizesthai "contend in the struggle..., contend for victory or a prize" (in reference to physical combat, stage competitions, lawsuits), from agōnia "a struggle...for victory," originally "a struggle for victory in the games" (see agony)....
    reluctance
    1640s, "act of struggling against;" 1660s, "unwillingness, aversion;" from the obsolete verb reluct "to strive, struggle,...or rebel against" (15c.), from Latin reluctari, reluctare "to struggle against, resist, make opposition," from re- "back..., against, in opposition" (see re-) + luctari "to struggle, wrestle," from Proto-Italic *lukto-, from PIE *lug-to- "bent"...
    reluctant
    struggling against duty or a command," 1660s, from Latin reluctantem (nominative reluctans), present participle of reluctari "to struggle...against, resist, make opposition," from re- "against" (see re-) + luctari "to struggle, wrestle" (see reluctance)....Reluctant, literally, struggling back from, implies some degree of struggle either with others who are inciting us on, or...
    antagonist
    from Late Latin antagonista, from Greek antagonistēs "competitor, opponent, rival," agent noun from antagonizesthai "to struggle...against, oppose, be a rival," from anti "against" (see anti-) + agonizesthai "to contend for a prize," from agon "a struggle...
    endeavor
    early 15c., "pains taken to attain an object," literally "in duty," from phrase put (oneself) in dever "make it one's duty" (a partial translation of Old French mettre en deveir "put in duty"), from Old French dever "duty," from Latin debere "to owe," originally, "keep something
    skirmish
    late 14c., scarmuch, "irregular fight, especially between small numbers of soldiers," from Old French escarmouche "skirmish," from Italian scaramuccia, earlier schermugio. This is held to be probably from a Germanic source, with a diminutive or depreciatory suffix (see -ish), fro
    box
    "rectangular wooden container," usually with a lid, Old English box, also the name of a type of shrub, from Late Latin buxis, from Greek pyxis "boxwood," pyxion "writing table, box," made of boxwood, from pyxos "box tree," which is of uncertain origin. Beekes suggests a loan-word

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