Expert: Ted Nesbitt - 8/7/2009

Question
August 7, 2009

Dear Mr. Nesbitt,

I read that you are no longer accepting questions . . .  but I discovered you just today!  My husband and I love to 'discuss' etymology and truly, I am sorry that 'one bad apple' has ruined the fun for us all.  There are indeed some out here who are not only familiar with the word 'etiquette,' but attempt to use good manners daily and with true feeling.

If you find a moment, although I have no expectations (please read this with the utmost respect and not as sarcasm), I would love for you to toss a bit of help my way.

I am desperately seeking some etymological information for the word 'ARGH.'  I found only a dissatisfying reference in an Urban Dictionary . . .  but I cannot help but feel that this word might have an older origin . . .  and, not necessarily pirate in nature!

Does 'argh' exist in any form (aargh, arrgh, etc.) in any types of older literature?  Shakespeare, Coleridge, Faust?  And, if it does not . . .  what alternative should one use to express a sense of embarrassment, exasperation or frustration?  ‘Ugh,’ seems too harsh for the situation I have in mind.

For example:
Shelby notices the large box of chocolates jutting out of her locker as she leaves her algebra class.  Although excited by her boyfriend’s unexpected attention, Shelby is embarrassed that her classmates also witness his lavish romantic gift waiting patiently for her.  As her friends crowd around her and her locker, ‘argh’ is all she can muster in response to the young girls’ giggles and questions.

Please forgive my bumbling writing example . . .  but I hope I have tempted you to do a bit more research before you ‘hang up your hat?’

Thank you – whether you choose to offer assistance or not – and I wish you all the best.

Sincerely,
Cynthia

P.S. Incidentally, I seem to be finding ‘utmost’ and ‘upmost’ used interchangeably in English writing today.  Is ‘utmost’ more common in U.S. English and ‘upmost’ in U.K. English?  Or, are the words similar only in spelling and not in meaning?

Answer
Dear Cynthia:

Thank you for your message.  I will do "one" more.  Your question intrigues me.

First, about "utmost" and "upmost."  I have no idea which one is used more often in the United Kingdom or the United States [or Canada or Australia, etc.], but I have the feeling that people use them interchangeably, even though there is a slight difference.

I consulted the "Bible" of the etymological field, "The Oxford English Dictionary."

The older of the two words is "utmost."  It first appeared in WRITTEN English in about the year 950.  Its actual meaning is "furthest from the center."  [The OED traces only WRITTEN usage, but we can be certain that "most" words were SPOKEN, long before they were ever written down.]

Its cousin, "upmost," means "at the top" or "the highest or most important."  Its first appearance in written English was in the year 1560:   1560 BIBLE (Genev.) Isaiah xvii. 6 Two or thre beries are in the top of the vpmoste boughs.  [Note the Middle English spellings of various words, including "ypmoste/upmost."  It took a couple of centuries to reach its current spelling of "upmost."]

So, if you tell your husband that you will go the UTMOST distance for him, you mean "the furthest from where you are now."  But, if you tell him that he ranks UPMOST in your mind, you are saying that he is the most important person to you.

Now . . . to that wonderful word that, I thought, was created for comic strips, "ARGH."  [And its other spellings.] . .  . .

As an interjection, which is how it is most frequently used, it is a relatively new word, appearing in WRITTEN English in the year 1800.  It is a variant of "ooh" and "ah" and "ach" and "agh."  The OED's first reference is to "agh."  The "groan" that the word represents can mean disappointment or anguish, but it can also mean fear.  It is in the "fear connection" that the word -- as a VERB -- goes back much further in time, to about the year 1325 [spelled simply "ar"].

Although "arg" as a verb is obsolete, it is my belief [based on reading a lot more of the passages from the OED than I am pasting in below] that it "stays alive" in our language as an interjection.  I associate it with fear and dismay.  By changing one letter, we get "ugh," usually used to show disgust.

I hope that what I have collected for you and your husband will be good reading.  Suffice it to say, the word is MUCH older than what "The Urban Dictionary" reports . . . and "The Oxford English Dictionary" has a much better reputation than "The Urban Dictionary."

I hope this helps . . . READ ON.

Ted Nesbitt


INTERJECTION

Forms: 18- agh, 19- argh.Forms with one or more of the letters occurring two or more times are also attested.  [Imitative of a prolonged cry or groan. Compare AH int., ACH int., OOH int.]

   Expressing pain or fright; (also) expressing anguish, disappointment, or frustration.
1800 M. EDGEWORTH Castle Rackrent Gloss. p. xix, When they [sc. the bearers at a funeral] come near any houses, they begin to cry Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Agh! Agh! 1919 G. B. SHAW Great Catherine iv. 154 Agh! Ooh! Stop! Oh Lord! 1948 Wanted by Police May (front cover), Aaagh! 1976 Beano 12/2 Aarghh! A monster throw it back! 1986 J.M. DILLARD Demons x. 181 Argh. What a hangover. 1992 Smithsonian Jan. 42/2 (caption) Aghhh! A Sante Fe chilehead tries to will his right hand to reach for habanero remedy tortillas and salt. 1996 H. FIELDING Bridget Jones's Diary (1997) 148 Aargh aargh. Have reached the age when men of my own age no longer find their contemporaries attractive. 2003 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 13 Apr. III. 1/1 Aaargh, seven bogeys and three double bogeys.

VERB

trans. To daunt, frighten. Obs.
c1325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 572 In  e anger of his ire  at ar ed monye. 1393 LANGL. P. Pl. C. IV. 237 Ac  ow  y-self..Hast arwed meny hardy men • that hadden wil to fyghte. c1400 Sir Perc. 69 That arghede alle that ther ware, Bothe the lesse and the mare.