annoy

views updated May 18 2018

an·noy / əˈnoi/ • v. [tr.] (often be annoyed) irritate (someone); make (someone) a little angry: he was annoyed at being woken up so early Kelly was annoyed with herself for feeling a pang of jealousy your damned cheerfulness has always annoyed me | [intr.] rock music loud enough to annoy. ∎ archaic harm or attack repeatedly: a gallant Saxon, who annoyed this Coast.ORIGIN: Middle English (in the sense ‘be hateful to’): from Old French anoier (verb), anoi (noun), based on Latin in odio in the phrase mihi in odio est ‘it is hateful to me.’

annoy

views updated May 14 2018

annoy XIII. — OF. enoier, anoier (mod. ennuyer) :- late L. inodiāre, from the L. phr. mihī in odiō est it is hateful to me (cf. ODIUM).
So annoyance XIV.