Comfort

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈkʌm.fət/

Definitions

1. To ease the pain or unease of another person while being in a situation free from hardship or struggles, and to experience a sense of inner peace and contentment
2. To provide solace or relief to another who is suffering while enjoying a state of security devoid of turmoil, and to achieve a feeling of serenity and fulfillment
3. To offer support or consolation to someone in distress while living in a condition marked by safety and ease, resulting in feelings of peace and contentment

Etymology: The English word "comfort" arrived in Middle English from Old French, and its Latin ancestor was a verb meaning "to strengthen greatly." Late Latin "confortare" combined "con-", meaning "together," with "fortis", meaning "strong," so the original picture was of making something very strong, not of soothing it. The idea of strength was there from the start, and the sense of consolation grew out of it: to strengthen someone in spirit was to lift their distress. The word did not win on its own. Old English already had "frofor", which meant comfort or consolation, and it lingered into Middle English as "frovre" before the French import pushed it out. English speakers thus swapped a native word for a borrowed one that carried a fresh sense of fortifying. Both the verb and the noun descend from the same Late Latin source, so the two forms are closely related. The noun came into Middle English from Old French "cunfort" and "confort," while the verb arrived through "comforten" from Old French "conforter."

Synonyms: solace, ease, relief, consolation, support

Antonyms: discomfort, pain, suffering, distress, agony