530: annoy and odious May 21, 2016

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The word 'annoy' has over time retained its original meaning with only slight differences in connotation. In Middle English the word meant ‘be hateful to’, or sometimes 'attack repeatedly' usually in reference to skirmishes and raids. As may be expected from Middle English-words, it came from the Old French 'anoier' (verb). The original base was the Latin, 'odio' from the phrase "mihi in odio est" meaning ‘it is hateful to me’. The Latin root may not sound at all like the French, but the connection to a hard '-d' and an 'n' would be clear to anyone with a cold. Despite the nasalization in French of certain sounds, 'odious' came to English from the same word in Latin via French as well.

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