worry

▪ I. worry, n.
    (ˈwʌrɪ)
    [f. the vb.]
    1. a. A troubled state of mind arising from the frets and cares of life; harassing anxiety or solicitude.

1804 W. Wilberforce in Life (1838) III. 190 Broomfield..is a scene of almost as much bustle as Old Palace Yard. So much so, that the incessant worry (it is an expressive word) of this house makes me think of quitting it. 1835 Marryat Jac. Faithf. xxv, It were better to know the worst at once, than to be kept on the worry all your days. 1838 Buckstone Our Mary Anne 20 After all the worry of mind I have endured this day. 1844 Dickens Mart. Chuz. xxii, Martin felt, from pure fatigue, and heat, and worry, as if he could have fallen on the ground. 1862 Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Hallib. ii. xxvi. (1888) 290 The fact is..I have a good deal of worry upon me. 1871 Smiles Character viii. 219 Cheerfulness..enables nature to recruit its strength; whereas worry and discontent debilitate it. 1879 Mrs. Craik Young Mrs. Jardine III. ix. 227 It is not work that kills, but ‘worry’.

transf. 1866 Longfellow Flower-de-luce ii, Thou laughest at the mill, the whir and worry Of spindle and of loom.

    b. An instance or case of this; a cause of, or matter for, anxiety; pl. cares, solicitudes.

1813 Sketches of Character (ed. 2) I. 178 You may suppose what a worry Mrs. Mac. was in. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. v. 27 Eliza came in here..in a great worry, crying and taking on. 1861 F. Nightingale Nursing 66 There is scarcely a greater worry which invalids have to endure than the incurable hopes of their friends. 1859 Lever Davenport Dunn ix. 76 ‘Delicious spot to come and repose in from the cares and worries of life’, said Lord Lackington. 1868 L. M. Alcott Little Women iv, Rich people have about as many worries as poor ones, I think. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 25 To learn to write with the left hand is a labour and a worry. 1912 Times 1 May 10/2 His chief worry was that he was unable to be of any further use.

    2. The act of biting and shaking an animal so as to injure or kill it. (Properly of hounds when they seize their quarry.)

1847 Surtees Hawbuck Grange xii. 250 The whole pack flew from their noses to the worry, and rolled one over another with their victim into the river. 1859 G. A. Lawrence Sword & Gown iii. 28 They will..join in the ‘worry’ as eagerly as the youngest hound. 1882 C. L. Morgan in Nature XXVI. 524/2 But no dog could tell his companion of the successful ‘worry’ [sc. of a cat] he had just enjoyed. 1886 Fores's Sporting Notes III. 155 And then among the reeds is a rolling over, a confusion, and a worry.

transf. 1901 ‘Linesman’ Words by Eyewitness (1902) 100 There is a brief and breathless ‘worry’ at the top, and the hill is ours. Few Boers have remained to face the bayonets.

    3. Irritation or morbid stimulation (of bodily tissue).

1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 750 This form of looseness appears to be due to direct worry of the mucous membrane.

    4. Special Combs. worry beads, a string of beads manipulated by the fingers as a means of occupying one's hands and calming the nerves; worry lines, lines or wrinkles on the forehead supposedly formed by a habitual expression of worry.

1964 in M. McLuhan Understanding Media viii. 78 You will notice that many Greek men..spend a lot of time counting the beads of what appear to be amber rosaries... They are komboloia or ‘worry beads’. 1978 G. Greene Human Factor v. i. 233 The man had a rosary in his lap and seemed to be using it like a chain of worry beads. 1985 Observer 3 Feb. 19/3 Sheikh Yamani, worry beads to hand, sums up the general feeling of unease as OPEC last week managed to preserve its fragile unity.

1972 ‘J. Quartermain’ Rock of Diamond xvi. 99 Worry lines creased his forehead. 1982 L. Cody Bad Company xiv. 102 There was grey in her hair and worry lines between her brows.

▪ II. worry, v.
    (ˈwʌrɪ)
    pa. tense and pple. worried. Forms: α. 1 wyrᵹan, 4 wyryȝ(e, 4–5 wirwe, wirie, wiry(e, wyrie, wyry(e, 5 wyrwyn, wyrhy, 5–7 wirrie, wyrry, 6 Sc. wirrey, virry, 5–6, 9 Sc. wirry. β. 4 werew, Sc. ver(r)y, 4–6 wery(e, (5 were, werou-), 5–7, 9 dial. werry, 6 wearry, 6–7 wearie, weary. γ. 4–6 worow(e, (4 pa. pple. yworewid, 5 pa. tense worod, 6 3rd sing. woroeth), 5 worwyn, 6–7 worrow, 7 wurrow; 4–7 wory(e, (5 vory), worie, 6 worrye, 6–7 woorry(e, 7 woorie, worrey, whorry, worr' (in verse), 6–8 wurry, 6– worry.
    [OE. wyrᵹan = OFris. wergia to kill, MLG. worgen, MDu. worghen (Du. worgen, wurgen), to strangle, throttle, OHG. wurgan, wurkjan (MHG. wurgen, würgen, G. würgen), to strangle, worry, kill by violence:—OTeut. *wurgjan, related to *werg-, a strong vb. stem found in MHG. irwergen to throttle:—Indo-Eur. *wergh-.
    The α- and β-forms (wirry and werry) are normal ME. developments of OE. wyrᵹan: cf. the forms of merry a. The γ-forms apparently represent a late WS. *wurᵹan, with later graphic substitution of wo- for wu-; see the note to worm n. The original u-sound of this form is indicated by the late spellings with woo-.]
    † 1. a. trans. To kill (a person or animal) by compressing the throat; to strangle. Obs.

α c 725 Corpus Gloss. S 558 St[r]angulat, wyrᵹeð uel smorað. c 1300 Havelok 1921 On þe morwen, hwan it was day, Ilc on other wirwed lay, Als it were dogges þat weren henged. 1387 Trevisa Higden VII. 534 (MS. β) Harald..threwe hym to the grounde and had wyried [MS. γ ywyryed] hym with his hondes, nadde he be the rather delyvered out of his clowes. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 530/1 Wyrwyn', strangulo, suffoco. 1513 Douglas æneis viii. v. 26 Tua gret serpentis..The quhilk he wyrreit wyth his handis tuay. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 191 Thay wirrit him to the deid. 1606 Reg. Privy Counc. Scot. (1885) VII. 185 He tuike the said compleiner be the throat and thought to have wirryed her or she had awaked.

β c 1300 Havelok 1915 Weren he werewed. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxvi. (Nycholas) 994 He..weryt hyme [eum strangulavit]. 1456 Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 23 The fende weryit him in his bed. 14.. Quatuor Serm. (Caxton 1483) d 4, I denounce..al tho that werye or slee theyr generacions. 1483 Cath. Angl. 414/2 To Wery, strangulare, suffocare.

γ 13.. St. Greg. Trental 19 in Min. Poems fr. Vernon MS. 261 Anon as hire child I-boren was, Þe Nekke heo nom, þe child heo woriede [Cott. MS. wyryede]. 14.. Promp. Parv. 532/2 (MS. K.) Worwyn, supra in wyrwyn. 1483 Cath. Angl. 423/2 To Worowe, jugulare, suffocare. 1558 Kennedy Compend. Tractive ii. in Wodrow Misc. (1844) I. 104 That thay abstayne..fra it that is worreit [Acts xv. 20]. 1600 Hamilton in Cath. Tractates (S.T.S.) 240/5 East Laudiane knawis the loue and fidelitie of ane of thair Ministers towards his wyf, wha worriet hir before he passit to his preaching.

    † b. fig. Obs.

1387 Trevisa Higden VII. 465 Þese..wexe so riche þat it semede þat þe douȝter passede and weried [v.rr. wyryȝede, wyryed, wyryde] þe moder [ut filia ditata matrem supergredi videretur et suffocare].

    † 2. a. To choke (a person or animal) with a mouthful of food. Used with the food as subj., or refl. and pass. Const. on (the food); hence to be worried, or worry oneself, on = to devour greedily. Also fig. Obs.

a 1300 Cursor M. 16929 Ai til iesus þe thrid dai had fughten gain sathan, And werid him on his aun bit, als hund es on a ban. 14.. Wyntoun Chron. vii. 514 (Wemyss MS.) God lat neuer of it a crote, Till I be weryit [v.rr. wyrryd, wereyt], pass oure my throte. c 1520 Skelton Magnyf. 1568 On suche a female my flesshe wolde be wroken{ddd}weryed I wolde be on suche a bayte. a 1529 ― P. Sparowe 29 Gib, I saye, our cat Worrowyd her on that Which I loued best. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 663 How Godowyn worreit himself to Deid in Presence of Edward King. Ibid., The breid..stak so fast.., it wirreit him to deid. 1536 Bellenden Cron. Scot. (1821) II. 276 ‘God gif that breid wory me, gif evir I wes othir art or part of Alarudis slauchter.’ And incontinent, he fel doun weryit on the breid. 1674 Ray N.C. Words 55 To be Worried, to be choak't. a 1779 D. Graham Collect. Writ. (1883) II. 39 She..squattles up a mutchkin at a waught, which was like to wirry her.

    † b. intr. (for refl.) To be choked, to choke. Const. on (as above). Obs.

c 1420 Wyntoun Chron. vii. 504 Swa suddandly richt at þe burde He wereit. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxxi. 24 Now quhill thair is gude wyne to sell, He that dois on dry breid virry [v.r. wirrie], I gif him to the Devill of hell. 1715 in Maidment Old Ballads (1844) 33 He..like a fool, did eat the cow, And worried on the tail. 1756 M. Calderwood Lett. & Jrnls. (1884) v. 123 A great fat carle..so short necked that you would think he would worry [at] every word he spoke. 1721 Kelly Scot. Prov. 385 You fasted long, and worried on a Fly.

    † c. Of smoke: To suffocate (a person). Obs.

1755 Edom of Gordon xv. in Child Ballads III. 434 Dear mother, gie owre your house,..For the reek it worries me.

    3. a. trans. To seize by the throat with the teeth and tear or lacerate; to kill or injure by biting and shaking. Said e.g. of dogs or wolves attacking sheep, or of hounds when they seize their quarry.

α c 1380 [see b]. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. x. 226 Wolues þat wyryeþ men, wommen and children. c 1480 Henryson Fox, Wolf & Cadger 25 Mak ane suddand schow vpon ane scheip, Syne with thy wappinnis wirrie him to deid. 1549 Compl. Scotl. 156 There is ouer mony doggis in scotland that virreis there master as acteon vas virreit. 1606 Wily beguiled 71 My dog wirried my neighbours sow, and the sow died. 1623 Extr. Aberd. Reg. (1848) II. 383 Mastishe and cur doggis..quha..wyrries and devouris thair sheip.

β c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints iii. (Andreas) 259 Sewine hundis com quhare he lay, and verrit hym sodanly. c 1400 Rom. Rose 6264 He wolde hem wery and drinke the bloode. c 1400 Love Bonavent. Mirr. xviii. 46 Þe prophete Abdo þat was weroude [v.r. wirwed] of þe lyoune. 1554 W. Prat Aphrique K iv b, Manye other beastes whiche the dogges do werye & kyll. 1586 Whetstone Engl. Mirror 44 If a Beare appeare,..they will all joyne to wearie him. 1599 Peele David & Bethsabe B iv, The mastiues of our land shall werry ye. 1609 Ev. Woman in Hum. v. i. in Bullen O. Pl. IV, Acteon..was..werried to death with his own dogs. a 1653 Gouge Comm. Hebr. xi. 37 When he observeth that the Wolf hath wearied some sheep.

absol. 1638 R. Brathwait Barnabees Jrnl. iii. (1818) 141 Farre from home old foxes werry.

γ 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 1229 Lyons, libardes and wolwes kene, Þat wald worow men bylyve, And rogg þam in sonder and ryve. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1905 Ryȝt bifore þe hors fete þay fel on hym alle, And woried me þis wyly wyth a wroth noyse. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 958 Ȝone warlawe wyt, he worows vs alle! c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 8777 To scle the Gregais wold he not ses, As hongre lyoun bestes vories. c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 421 And with þat he ran on þe selie lambe and worod itt. 1579 Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 47 The men of Hyrcania, that keepe Mastiffes, to woorrye them selues. 1592 Bacon Observ. Libel (end) Resuscit. (1657) 150 The persecutions of the Primitive Church... As that, of Worrowing Priests, under the Skins of Bears, by Doggs, and the like. 1620 Quarles Feast for Wormes Med. iii. D 4, Alas! the rau'nous Wolues will worr' thy Sheepe. 1639 J. Clarke Parœm. 56 Many dogs may easily woorie one. 1680 P. Henry Diar. & Lett. (1882) 285 Ralph Nixon had three sheep worry'd to death in one night. 1795 Life John Metcalf 3 One of the young hounds happening to worry a couple of lambs. 1844 Stephens Bk. Farm II. 88 Many dogs..are in the habit of looking out for sheep to worry, at some distance from their homes. 1847 C. Brontë J. Eyre xx, She bit me... She worried me like a tigress. 1866 A. J. Wilson St. Elmo v, Did not he worry down and mangle one of my best Southdowns? 1867 Times 8 May 13/2 Defendant's dog..seized Mrs. Miller by the leg, and bit her several times, throwing her down, and worrying her very much.

absol. 1872 Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 990 Such a dog am I, To worry, and not to flee. 1899 H. D. Rawnsley Life & Nat. Eng. Lakes 173 A dog that shows signs of worrying is ‘put down’ at once.

    b. fig. (or in figurative context).

c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 24 No warde to hem hou faste þe woluys of helle wirien cristen soulis. 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles iii. 72 His owen kynde briddis, Þat weren..well ny yworewid with a wronge leder. 1529 More Dyaloge iv. xi. 114 b/2 To play y⊇ wyly foxes & wyrry simple soules & pore lambes. 1549 [see 3 α]. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 318 That they..ouersee that other Ministers do theyr dutye, that the wolues do not worrye the flocke. 1563 Foxe A. & M. 1442/2 My L. is it not enough for you to wery your own shepe, but ye must also meddle w{supt} other mens shepe? 1603 Holland Plutarch's Mor. 238 Even so those parts of our life which are diseased, naught and ill affected,..these they seize upon, and are ready to worry and plucke in peeces. 1641 Milton Reform. ii. Wks. 1851 III. 67 To let them still hale us, and worrey us with their band-dogs, and Pursivants. 1690 C. Nesse O. & N. Test. I. 317 Herod pretended to worship Christ when he intended to worry him. 1863 R. F. Burton Wand. W. Africa I. 1 White sea-dogs coursed and worried one another over Father Mersey's breadth of mud.

    c. transf. To bite at or upon (an object); to kiss or hug vehemently; to utter (one's words) with the teeth nearly closed, as if biting or champing them.

1567 Golding Ovid's Met. xiii. 568 Queene Hecub ronning at a stone, with gnarring seazd theron, And wirryed it beetweene her teeth [morsibus insequitur]. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. v. ii. 58 Then againe worryes he his Daughter, with clipping her. 1678 Dryden All for Love iv. 54 And then he grew familiar with her hand, Squeez'd it, and worry'd it with ravenous kisses. 1905 L. J. Vance Ter. O'Rourke i. xiv, As the Irishman entered, Prince Felix said a word, or two, low-toned and tense—worried them between his teeth, like an ill-dispositioned cur. 1914 A. M. N. Lyons Simple Simon i. i. 13 Their sons, late of the Great School, home from India on leave and unanimously worrying small moustaches of the tooth-brush pattern.

    d. intr. To pull or tear at (an object) with the teeth.

1882 Little Folks Jan. 24/2 There was Floss, worrying at the parcel, which had only thin paper wrapped round it.

    4. trans. To swallow greedily, devour. Also with up. Latterly north. and Sc.

a 1300 Cursor M. 5902 Bot aaron wand it wex sa kene Þas oþer it wired [Gött. wirid, Trin. woryed] al bidene. 1619 A. Gill Logon. Angl. Pref. B 3 To worrow, Voro. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 125 They had seene him weare many [jewels] and twas them, hee had woorried in his Ostrich appetite. 1643 Horn & Rob. Gate Lang. Unl. li. §568 Stout feeders..do nothing else but devour (never lin wurrowing). 1728 Ramsay Monk & Miller's Wife 138 Think ye..his gentle stamock's master To worry up a pint of plaister. 1805 G. M{supc}Indoe Poems 65 (E.D.D.) Great claggs o' meat they ne'er could worry. 1887 Jamieson Suppl., Wirry, to worry, devour, eat ravenously.

    5. a. To harass by rough or severe treatment, by repeated aggression or attack; to assail with hostile or menacing speech.

a 1553 Udall Royster D. iii. iii. (Arb.) 46 But in spite of Custance, which hath hym weried, Let vs see his mashyp solemnely buried. 1594 Nashe Unfort. Trav. 34, I thought verilie they woulde haue worried one another with wordes, they were so earnest and vehement. 1610 Rowlands Martin Mark-all 12 Hath your nightly watchings and continuall disorder of your braines so whorried your senses. 1652 Peyton Catastr. Ho. Stuarts 74, I being a man can speak by experience, who hath been most justly worryed by the hand of the Almighty for sins. 1675–7 Warwick Mem. Chas. I (1701) 321 Cromwell..marched forwards into Scotland, and left Lambert to worry Hamilton in England. a 1680 Glanvill Serm. iv. (1681) 212 No mans Life or property will be safe; mankind would worry and prey upon one another. 1725 B. Higgons Rem. Burnet ii. (1736) 177 He cruelly worries the Memory of a Daughter of England. 1729 Gay Polly i. xiv, In conniving at my escape, you save me from your husband's worrying me with threats and violence. 1852 Rock Ch. of Fathers III. i. 302 They vowed they would give peace to the land they were then wasting and worrying by fire and sword. 1877 Freeman in Brit. Q. Rev. Jan. 182 He perhaps hardly brings out how thoroughly Edward the Third was worried into war by the aggression of Philip. 1885 Manch. Exam. 23 Feb. 5/3 Having found their range during daylight, they continued to worry our men all the night.

transf. a 1699 J. Beaumont Psyche xxii. x, Soil..if not duly worried, digg'd and plow'd, Harrow'd and torn. 1898 Allbutt's Syst. Med. V. 304 A repeated application to some of these drugs..by worrying the cardiac ganglia..tends to dilatation of the heart.

    b. with advb. extension expressing result, as away, in, to death.

1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Abigo, He chased or weried away his sonne to Rhodes. 1603 Dekker Wonderful Year E 4 First to scratch out false Cressidaes eyes, and then (which was worse) to woorry her to death with scolding. 1659 Milton Civ. Power 74 If departed of his own accord, like that lost sheep..the true church either with her own or any borrowd force worries him not in again. 1678 Poor Robin's True Char. Scold 6 Thus she worries him out of his senses at home. 1711 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. V. 184 He is wurryed to death by those ungrateful nations.

    c. transf. With adv. (e.g. out, down) or advb. phr.: To get or bring into a specified condition by harassing treatment, persistent aggression, or dogged effort. Similarly to worry one's way. Also without adv. (phr.), to worry about (a problem, etc.) (U.S. colloq.).

1727 E. Laurence Duty of Steward 55 The Tenants..have been suffer'd to..worry out the strength of the Land by sowing Rape, &c. 1806–7 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) xx. xxx. 256 You at last worry out a solitary spark [from the flint]. 1811 Jane Austen Sense & Sens. II. x. 186 She was sometimes worried down by officious condolence to rate good-breeding as more indispensable to comfort than good-nature. 1870 E. E. Hale Ten Times One iii. 61 While she ‘worried down’ the tea, and ate a slice of toast. 1890 Nature 4 Sept. 455/2 All such points he will delight to worry out for himself. 1894 Crockett Play-actress iv. 52 Worrying out a knotty point in the ‘Original Hebrew’. 1898 L. Stephen Stud. Biogr. II. ii. 48 Scott..worried his way into some understanding of the language by main force. 1920 A. Hope Lucinda ii. 24 Waldo was not quick-witted, but he had a good brain. If he got hold of a problem, he would worry it to a solution. 1959 N. Mailer Advts. for Myself (1961) 119 He had always asked too many questions, he had worried the task too severely. 1963 N. & Q. Dec. 443/1, I shall not worry the distinction between alba and aube. 1978 T. L. Smith Money War i. 17 He had worried the chance meeting on the flight home.

    d. To irritate (an animal) by a repetition of feigned attacks, etc.

1807–8 Syd. Smith Plymley's Lett. iii. Wks. 1859 II. 146/2, I admit there is a vast luxury in selecting a particular set of Christians, and in worrying them as a boy worries a puppy dog. 1840 Dickens Old C. Shop xxi, Hissing and worrying the animal [a chained dog] till he was nearly mad.

    e. U.S. To afflict with physical fatigue or distress.

1828 Webster, Worry..2. To fatigue; to harass with labor; a popular sense of the word. 1876 Holland Sevenoaks v. 66 For three steady hours he went on, the horse no more worried than if he had been standing in the stable.

    f. Fencing. to worry the sword: ‘to fret one's opponent by small movements in rapid succession which seem about to result in thrusts or feints’ (Cent. Dict.).
    6. a. In lighter sense: To vex, distress, or persecute by inconsiderate or importunate behaviour; to plague or pester with reiterated demands, requests, or the like.

1671 Milton Samson 906 Witness when I was worried with thy peals. 1728 Gay Begg. Op. ii. xiii, 'Tis barbarous in you to worry a Gentleman in his Circumstances. 1788 Franklin Autobiog. Wks. 1840 I. 196 He had continually worried the Assembly with message after message. 1840 Dickens Old C. Shop vii, You worry me to death with your chattering. 1846 Landor Wks. II. 9 (Albani & Picture-dealers), I am infested and persecuted and worried to death by duns. They belabor and martellate my ears. 1882 M. E. Braddon Mt. Royal II. v. 103 She will worry you till you give your consent. 1885 Manch. Exam. 15 July 5/3 The supply of ignorant ciceroni to worry visitors with their foolish babblement. 1889 Jessopp Coming of Friars vi. 281 The scholars were not to be worried with everlasting ritual observances. 1927 J. B. Priestley Adam in Moonshine x. 203 They won't really do anything but worry you with questions.

    b. with advb. extension as out, out of (something).

1729 Swift Grand Question debated (1732) 8 But, Madam, I beg, you'll contrive and invent, And worry him out, till he gives his Consent. 1853 G. J. Whyte-Melville Digby Grand I. x. 269 Addressing ‘dear Angelina’ in an affectionate whisper that would never have led one to suppose she worried the poor girl's life out at home. 1876 Holland Sevenoaks xv. 209 She..had worried him out of his life, and he had gone and left her childless. 1898 Times 18 Oct. 9/3 If by chance it [the French Government] imagines that this country is going to be worried out of the position taken up by Lord Salisbury, it is making a very grave mistake.

    7. a. To cause distress of mind to; to afflict with mental trouble or agitation; to make anxious and ill at ease. Chiefly of a cause or circumstance, or refl. or pass.

1822 Hazlitt Table-Talk xxiii. (On great and little Things), Small pains are..more within our reach; we can fret and worry ourselves about them. 1822 W. Irving Bracebr. Hall, Bachelor's Conf., He had settled the point which had been worrying his mind. 1848 Dickens Dombey v, I quite fret and worry myself about her. 1866 Geo. Eliot F. Holt i. (1868) 21 Increasing anxieties about money had worried her. 1867 Trollope Last Chron. Barset II. lvi. 121 Men when they are worried by fears..become suspicious. 1874 L. Stephen Hours in Libr. (1892) II. iii. 95 This self-plagiarism sometimes worries us. 1875 Mrs. Randolph Wild Hyacinth I. 74 Don't worry yourself about it, my love. 1889 ‘J. S. Winter’ Mrs. Bob xxi. (1891) 238 It puzzles me and worries me to guess why Miss Lavinia always wanted to drop the subject.

    b. in pa. pple., denoting a state of mind.

1863 Princess Alice Mem. (1884) 60, I am sure, dear Mama, you are worried to death about it. 1867 Trollope Last Chron. Barset I. xxi. 179 The subject..was a sore one, and he was worried a little. 1871 Geo. Eliot Middlem. xxiii. II. 25 He felt a little worried and wearied, perhaps with mental debate. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 602 Some patients are attacked [by lichen] when worried or in low condition.

    c. intr. (for refl.) To give way to anxiety or mental disquietude. Also in colloq. phrases, as I should worry: see shall v. 18 d; not to worry: see not adv. 4.

1860 Worcester, Worry v.n., to indulge in idle complaining; to fret; to be troubled. (Colloquial.) Roget. 1861 Holland Lessons in Life xiii. 181 When she can find nothing to do, then she worries. 1874 Ld. Coleridge in Life (1904) II. ix. 244 ‘Don't coddle and don't worry’ is his recipe for longevity. 1879 H. George Progr. & Pov. ix. iv. (1881) 414 Men would no more worry about finding employment than they worry about finding air to breathe. 1901 T. J. Alldridge Sherbro xx. 205 My head-man..begged me not to worry.

    8. intr. with advb. extension (cf. the transf. uses 5 b, c, 6 b above): a. To advance or progress by a harassing or dogged effort; to force or work one's way through. Of the wind: To go on blowing in a harassing way.

a 1699 J. Beaumont Psyche iv. xcvii, Yet worying among the waves they spy'd A wracked Mortal. Ibid. xiii. iv, Winter..worries forward at his due Determin'd season, spight of all the Ice Which clogs his heels. 1820 W. Irving Sk. Bk., Spectre Bridegroom ¶11 He was naturally a fuming, bustling little man, and could not remain passive... He worried from top to bottom of the castle with an air of infinite anxiety. 1883 Symonds Ital. Byways i. 13 For the next three days the wind went worrying on. 1901 Daily Express 21 Mar. 7/1 In the end we worried through and..anchored. 1903 Kipling Five Nations 211 When the wind worries through the 'ills.

    b. To get through (a business, piece of work) by persistent effort or struggle; so with through adv. to worry along: to contrive to live, ‘keep going’, in the teeth of trials or difficulties (U.S.).

1871 ‘Mark Twain’ Screamers xxix. 146 My friend, you seem to know pretty much all the tunes there are, and you worry along first rate. 1873 Howells Chance Acquaint. (1882) 299 She must..try to worry along without him. 1876 Besant & Rice Gold. Butterfly xx, I worried through that war without a scratch. 1878 ― Celia's Arb. xii, Often on Saturday night I wonder how I have managed to worry through the work of the week. 1885 Howells Silas Lapham (1891) I. 269, I think I can manage to worry along. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 7 Oct. 2/2 The British farmer has..much to contend with, but on the whole he worries through a great deal more successfully than could be expected.

    9. Comb.: worryguts dial. and colloq. = worry wart; freq. as a term of address; † worry pear (tree) = choke-pear; worry wart colloq. (chiefly U.S.), an inveterate worrier, one who frets unnecessarily.

1932 Somerset Year Bk. 83 The missis, who be a prapper worryguts. 1966 O. Norton School of Liars iv. 72 He laughed. ‘Worryguts!’ ‘I wasn't worried. I was just trying to be efficient.’ 1982 D. Phillips Coconut Kiss ix. 94 It's all right..isn't it?’ I asked. ‘'Course it is, Worryguts,’ said Vera.

1562 Turner Herbal ii. 108 The wyld Pere tre or chouke Pere tre or worry Pear tre.

1956 I. Belknap Human Problems of State Mental Hospitals x. 177 The persevering, nagging delusional group—who were termed ‘worry warts’, ‘nuisances’, ‘bird dogs’, in the attendants' slang. 1974 J. Heller Something Happened 445 ‘Don't be such a worry wart.’ ‘Don't use that phrase. It makes my skin prickle.’

Oxford English Dictionary