▪ I. sorry, a.
(ˈsɒrɪ)
Forms: α. 1 sariᵹ, sarᵹ-, 1–3 sari, 3 særȝ-, særi, seri; north. and Sc. 4–5 sari, 4–6, 8 sarie, sary, 8–9 sairy, 6, 9 sairie. β. 3–5 sori, 3–7 sorie, sory, 6 sorye, soarye; 5– sorry, 6–7 sorrie.
[OE. sáriᵹ (f. sár sore n.1), = OS. sêrag (MLG. sêrich, LG. sêrig), OHG. sêrag (MHG. sêrec, G. dial. sêrich, etc.), WFris. searich, sore, pained, sensitive, etc. In English the change of ā to ō and subsequent shortening have given the word an apparent connexion with sorrow n.]
1. Pained at heart; distressed, sad; full of grief or sorrow.
In later use freq. in weakened sense, and often employed in the phrase ‘I'm sorry’ to express mere sympathy or apology.
| α c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxxv. §7 Ða sceolde se hearpere weorðan swa sariᵹ þæt he ne meahte onᵹemong oðrum monnum bion. c 1000 ælfric Gen. xlviii. 17 Þa Iosep ᵹeseah [etc.],..he wearð swiðe sari. a 1122 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1114, Þa wæron hi swa sari swa hi næfre ær ne wæron. a 1200 Vices & Virtues 69 Ðies ȝunge mann ȝiede a-wei sari. c 1205 Lay. 28459 Wenhauer þa quene, særȝest wimmonne. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 408 Swilc tiding ðhugte adam god, And sumdel quemeð it his seri mood. a 1300 Cursor M. 20378 Sai now broþer, suet iohan, Qui ertu sa sari man? a 1352 Minot Poems (ed. Hall) vii. 88 Ful sari was sir Philip þen. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 570 Þe childe was sary and þerfore grett. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxiv. 37 Lat ws in hairt nevir moir be sary. a 1585 Montgomery Flyting 474 Seuin ȝeir, it sat, baith singed and sairie. |
| β c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 117 He forbed his apostles..þat hie neren noht sorie. c 1275 Passion our Lord 147 in O.E. Misc., Þo hi hedden al þis iherd heo were ful sori. c 1320 Sir Tristr. 2161 Al sori mark gan go Til he miȝt tristrem kisse. c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶458 Ay the more strong that the fleisch is, the sorier may the soule be. c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 6746 No soryer man in erth may dwel Than I. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xvii. xvii. 714* Thenne was not he a lytel sory, for launcelot loued hym. 1535 Coverdale 2 Esdras xiii. 13 There came moch people vnto him: some were glad, some were sory. 1582 Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 60 In sight of thee soarye parents hee fel to the groundward. a 1628 F. Grevil Cœlica lxxiv, Sadly clad for Sorrowe's glory, Making joy glad to be sorie. 1780 Burke Corr. (1844) II. 379 As to the party, I do not wonder that they are sorry. 1820 Byron Blues ii. 1 Was there ever a man who was married so sorry? 1870 Dickens E. Drood iii, You seem to be sorry, Rosa. |
| Prov. 14.. Lat. & Eng. Prov. (MS. Douce 52) fol. 20 b, As long leuyth a mery man as a sory. |
b. absol. in sing. or pl.
| a 900 Cynewulf Crist 1510 Sarᵹe ᵹe ne sohton. c 1000 Ags. Psalter (Thorpe) liv. 1 Ne forseoh æfre sariᵹes bene. a 1300 Cursor M. 24861 Þaa sori loked ai sua for-suonken. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. xi. 190 Þus bed þe Do-bet,..Sike with þe sory, singe with þe glade. |
c. In association with sick.
| 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xx. 326 For þer ne is syk ne sory..Þat he ne may [etc.]. 1405 Lay Folks Mass Bk. 65 For al that er sek and sary. c 1440 York Myst. xlviii. 333 Whanne I was seke and soriest. 1529 Frith Antithesis 303 So that they go away sorrier and sicker in soul and in purse than they were before. 1876 T. Hardy Ethelberta (1890) 372 Looking as sick and sorry as a lily with a slug in its stalk. |
2. With various constructions: a. With at, for, † of, = on account of, by reason of; also with for, = on behalf of, in sympathy with.
| (a) c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. x, Se is swiðe sariᵹ for ðinum earfoðum. c 1000 ælfric Saints' Lives xxxii. 136 Þæt land-folc..wurdon swiðe sariᵹe for his sleᵹe on mode. c 1205 Lay. 13989 Bruttes weoren særi [v.r. sori] for swulchere isihðe. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7051 Þer uore þe king uor is deþ þe soriore was. 1375 Barbour Bruce ii. 65 He wes off his eschap sary. c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶488 Envye..is sory of alle the bountees of his neighbor. c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 2068 The pouer wer sory of that dooyng. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xxiv. 515 Moche sori was thadmyrall for the dethe of margaris. a 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. IV, 49 b, Yf any man wer sory of the duke of Burgoyns death. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. v. 4 The captaines..being very sorie for it had restored vnto him that which was taken. 1654–66 Earl of Orrery Parthen. (1676) 776, I was sorry at his Death. 1806 Ann. Rev. IV. 202 We are sorry at observing references to Bryant. 1879 Gladstone Glean. II. iii. 168 Much more I am sorrier for my good knight's loss. |
| (b) c 1375 Cursor M. 12433 (Fairf.), Ioseph..was ful sary for þe childe. 1484 Caxton Fables of Poge xi, Allas, sayd the mayde, I am sory for yow. 1592 Kyd Span. Trag. iii. v, I am in a sorte sorie for thee. 1675 J. Owen Indwelling Sin xvii. (1732) 229 He considering his Condition, tells him, Alas! I am sorry for you. 1715 De Foe Fam. Instruct. i. iv. (1841) I. 86 Well Sister, I am sorry for you. 1827 Scott Chron. Canongate iv, The house was old and dilapidated, and looked sorry for itself. 1882 M. E. Braddon Mt. Royal I. vi. 157, I think we all feel sorrier for him than for many a better man. |
b. With substantive clause.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 222 Þis monekes..sori were & wroþe ynouȝ, þat we hadde so longe ibeo. 13.. K. Alis. 6140 (Laud MS.), Þe kyng was sory..Þat he ne miȝth ȝiue hem bataile. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 1082 Dido, [She] seyde..that sche sory was That he hath had swych peryl. a 1400–50 Alexander 665, I am sary.. at þi fourme Is lickenand on na lym..to my selfe. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. V, 47 b, I am somwhat sory that kyng Henries seruantes of the seller made not maister Enguerant drinke. 1567–8 Abp. Parker Corr. (Parker Soc.) 310 But I am sorry he can so soon conceive displeasantly against me. 1663 S. Patrick Parab. Pilgr. xxxi. (1687) 371 Very sorry they were that it was not possible for them always to accompany him. 1673 Dryden Marr. à la Mode iv. i, I am sorry we shall not have one course together at the herd. 1797 A. M. Bennett Beggar Girl (1813) II. 101 She was..sorry Dr. Cameron objected to her maternal arrangements. 1891 Farrar Darkn. & Dawn lviii, I am sorry..that the Emperor's commands admit of no such delay. |
c. With infinitive.
| 1390 Gower Conf. I. 353 Of this aventure..Min herte is sory forto hiere. 1535 Starkey Let. in England (1878) p. xix, For sory hys hyghnes wold be to see you not to reche vn-to so manyfest a truthe. 1555 Eden Decades (Arb.) 53 They are sory to occupie the whyppe yf thou mightest otherwyse bee brought to obedience. 1670 Lady M. Bertie in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. V. 21, I am very sorry to heare that the small pox increase. 1769 Junius Lett. iii. (1788) 47, I am sorry to tell you..that, in this article, your first fact is false. 1782 F. Burney Cecilia viii. ii, I shall not be sorry to hear it. c 1835 Syd. Smith Let. on Sir J. Mackintosh Wks. 1859 II. 302/1, I am sorry to say I have none to send you. 1861 J. Pycroft Agony Point (1862) 419 There were not a few little ways and snuggeries that they felt sorry to be about to leave. |
† 3. Expressive or suggestive of distress or sorrow.
| Beowulf 2447 Þonne he ᵹyd wrece, sariᵹne sang. c 1000 Ags. Psalter (Thorpe) lv. 7 Ic..sette on ðinre ᵹesyhðe sariᵹe tearas. 13.. Cursor M. 15169 (Gött.), Mani sari sigh..sank tille his herte. c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶315 Yf he ne hade pitee of mannes soule, a sory song we myght all synge. 1388 Wyclif Gen. xl. 7 Whi is ȝoure face soriere to dai than it ys wont? 1390 Gower Conf. I. 115 With sobbinge and with sory teres This lord goth thanne an humble pas. 1561 Norton & Sackv. Gorboduc iv. ii, But what doth meane The sory chere of her that here doth come? 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 89 Quhen sall my hart ceis of this sorie sang? |
† 4. Causing distress or sorrow; painful, grievous, dismal. Obs.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 110 Þe stiche of sori & seoruhful pine. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1974 Ðo iacob saȝ dat sori writ, He gret. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7296 Þere hii smite to gadere, & made a sori pley. a 1300 Cursor M. 2922 Þat sari sight was on to se. c 1350 Will. Palerne 3696 So þroli a sori þouȝt þirled min hert. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 47 Thus was the hors in sori plit. a 1400 King & Hermit 191, I ne hade neuer so sory a dey, That i ne had a mery nyȝt. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 6754 Halfdene kyng of danmarke Made in Ingland sary warke. 1513 Douglas æneid iii. iv. 13 The fluid of Stix, that sory place. 1575 Gascoigne Herbes Wks. (1587) 163, I must indite A wofull case, a chip of sorie chance. 1605 Shakes. Macb. ii. ii. 19 This is a sorry sight. Lady. A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight. |
5. Vile, wretched, worthless, mean, poor; of little account or value: a. Of persons, (a) in general character or (b) in some special respect.
| (a) c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1074 Ðo sori wrecches of yuel blod wulden him ðor gret strengðe don. c 1325 Body & Soul 96 in Map's Poems (Camden) 348 Hy shal..tholien harde pinen wyth that sory Judas. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 1252 ‘Rest,’ quaþ sche, ‘þow sory wyȝt, god ȝyue yuele chaunce!’ a 1400–50 Alexander 4417 Loo, sary sottis, slike a sowme of synnars ȝe lufe! c 1500 Birched Sch.-boy in Babees Bk. (1868) 404 My master lokith as he were madde: ‘wher hast thou be, thow sory ladde?’ 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 38 What a shame it were..to swarve from that religion..at the motion of a sory Frere. 1579 Fulke Heskins' Parl. 445 There is..one sorie boy, that helpeth y⊇ priest to Masse. 1624 Gataker Transubst. 102 Whom they themselves account to be but a sorry obscure fellow. 1673 Cave Prim. Chr. i. iii. 49 The Christians were such a sorry inconsiderable people. 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1811) III. 66 Continue Esquire. It is a respectable addition, although every sorry fellow assumes it! 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Aristocracy Wks. (Bohn) II. 85 The baron..grew fat and wanton, and a sorry brute. 1886 Athenæum 30 Oct. 562/2 His hero is a sorry knave, without principle or rectitude. |
| (b) a 1425 Cursor M. 19199 (Trin.), Seruauntis elles be we sory. c 1555 Harpsfield Divorce Hen. VIII (Camden) 170 A dialogue between a sorry doting divine and a sorry lewd lawyer. 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. clxxxvii. §2. 501 A poore sorie Barbar, who had no more skill than he had learned by tradition. 1652–62 Heylyn Cosmogr. ii. (1682) 104 A sorry Gainer by the undertaking. 1680 W. Allen Peace & Unity 81 We know what sorry Saints many of them appear to be. 1706 E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 10 Tho' he's but a very sorry Horse-man, yet he's mightily given to the Chase. 1835 Marryat J. Faithful xxi, I shall prove but a sorry sweetheart, for I never made love in my life. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 155, I am a sorry physician, and do but aggravate a disorder which I am seeking to cure. |
b. Of things.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 807 Þe find..said within his sari thoght, ‘Ic haue him don to suinc for noght’. 1396–7 in Eng. Hist. Rev. (1907) XXII. 296 Pride with his sori genealogie of dedly synnes. c 1450 Lovelich Grail lv. 326 For ho-so entreth in to this place, he may ben siker of sory grace. c 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 33 Sori loue haue she that tellithe not the name of hym that last praied her. 1530 Palsgr. 209 Cosshe, a sorie house, cauerne. 1565 Stapleton Fortr. Faith 90 It is not inough to make a few sory surmises. 1621 in Foster Eng. Factories Ind. (1906) I. 339 A sorrie some for a Governour to borrowe. 1656 Jeanes Mixt. Schol. Div. 8 Thus, you see, that the feare of men hath..a poore, a sorry, and contemptible object. 1716–8 Lady M. W. Montagu Lett. I. xviii. 58 It is very good luck to get one sorry room in a miserable tavern. 1771 Mackenzie Man Feel. xiv, I was forced to beg my bread; and a sorry trade I found it. 1825 Waterton Wand. S. Amer. (1882) 163 It makes the historian cut a sorry figure. 1849 Miss Mulock Ogilvies iii, That she now wrote the sorriest hand imaginable. 1889 Gretton Memory's Harkback 153 You can put up with a sorry lodging for yourself, but beware of a bad stable for your steed. |
c. Of animals, esp. horses.
| c 1480 Henryson Fables, Lion & Mouse xiii, Unhailsum meit is of ane sarie Mous. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lv. 18 Sum..Ar now maid tame lyk ony lammis, And settin down lyk sarye crockis. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §38 Than mayst thou take thy sory weyke ewe awaye, and put her in an other place. 1547 Salesbury, Oenyn, a sory lambe. 1673 Cave Prim. Chr. i. i. 12 Trampled on by the sorriest Creatures, Mice, Swallows, &c. 1742 Hume Ess. (1870) xxiii. 158 One man, with a couple of sorry horses. 1760 Sterne Tr. Shandy i. x, Mounted..upon a lean, sorry, jack-ass of a horse. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. xi. 92 Sir P. staked his handsome horse against A.'s sorry poney. 1849 E. E. Napier Excur. S. Africa I. 290 Mounted on very sorry hacks. 1875 Comte de Paris Civil War Amer. I. 295 The sorrier the horses the greater the consumption. |
6. As n. An exclamation of ‘(I am) sorry’.
| 1834 M. Edgeworth Helen xxxv, A too fast hazarded broadside of questions and answers—glads and sorrys in chain-shots that did no execution. |
7. Comb., as sorry-flowered, sorry-hearted, sorry-looking; sorry-go-round [after merry-go-round: cf. † merry-go-sorry], a depressing cycle of events.
| 1382 Wyclif Prov. vii. 7, I beholde the sori hertid ȝunge man. Ibid. ix. 17 And to the sory hertid she spac [etc.]. 1786 Abercrombie Arr. 51 in Gard. Assist., Miserable, or sorry-flowered [aster]. 1844 Ld. Houghton Poems of Many Years 242 Without a wish for rest or friends, a sorry-hearted man. 1872 ‘Mark Twain’ Roughing It v. 48 The cayote is a..sorry-looking skeleton. 1903 Daily Chron. 10 June 9/3 A mangy and altogether sorry-looking object. 1959 V. Nabokov Nabokov's Dozen 1 The blurred Mount St. George..on the picture postcards which since 1910..have been courting the tourist from the sorry-go-round of their prop, among..lumps of rock and..sea shells. 1964 Punch 29 Apr. 630/1 It was time to stop the ‘sorry-go-round’ of inflation. |
Add: [1.] d. ellipt. for I am sorry. colloq. (a) Expressing apology or regret.
| 1914 G. B. Shaw Fanny's First Play 167 Sorry. Never heard of him. 1923 Radio Times 28 Sept. 19/2 No! sorry, I thought you were Cardiff. 1938 E. Waugh Scoop ii. ii. 157, I will say you're a quick worker. Sorry to barge in on the tender scene. 1954 W. Faulkner Fable 76 He said, ‘All right. Sorry. I didn't know you had a wife.’ 1982 W. J. Burley Wycliffe's Wild-Goose Chase i. 17 ‘Sorry to bother you on a Sunday morning...’ ‘Think nothing of it’. |
(b) Interrogatively, requesting an interlocutor to repeat words that the speaker failed to catch or to understand.
| 1972 T. Stoppard Jumpers II. 62 Miss Moore, is there anything you wish to say at this stage? Dotty (in the sense of ‘Pardon?’): Sorry? Bones: My dear, we are all sorry—. 1978 P. Howard Weasel Words vii. 46 For its part ‘sorry’ is coming to mean: ‘Please say that again; I did not hear you.’ |
▪ II. † ˈsorry, v. Obs.
[f. prec. Cf. OE. sárᵹian.]
intr. To grieve, to sorrow; to provide for.
| 1545 R. Ascham Toxoph. (Arb.) 42 If he complayne, they sory with hym. 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. 71 b, We rejoyce, we sorie, or we pitie an other mannes happe. 1601 J. Wheeler Treat Comm. 57 That those who are traders may be equally and indifferently cared and soried for. 1606 Ford Fame's Memorial G iij b, We mourne his death and sorry for his sake. |
▪ III. sorry, n. Midl. and north dial.
(ˈsɒrɪ, ˈsʌrɪ)
Also sorrey.
[Var. sirrah: cf. sirree.]
A term of address (now expressing familiarity) for a man or boy.
| a 1796 S. Pegge Derbycisms (1896) 65 Sorry,..sirrah; in speaking to a boy or lad. 1913 D. H. Lawrence Sons & Lovers ii. 31 ‘Shall ter finish, Sorry?’ cried Barker, his fellow butty. 1965 Brophy & Partridge Long Trail 183 Sorry, mate, pal, chum. Usually in vocative and chiefly among Yorkshire and Lancashire troops. 1977 Scollins & Titford Ey up, mi Duck! II. 56 Sorrey, the local version of the traditional term ‘sirrah’... Nowadays, a term of familiarity, as in: ‘Eh up, sorrey! Aah's it gooin?’ Towards Nottingham the pronunciation sometimes approximates more to ‘Surrey’. |