Concerns

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /kənˈsɝnz/

Definitions

1. Subjects that elicit apprehension or thought among people
2. Topics that command attention and can create unease or thoughtfulness
3. Feelings of unease or nervousness about possible problems or dangers ; areas or issues that someone considers important or has responsibility for

Etymology: "Concerns" is the plural of the noun "concern," and the verb sense of the word has the more surprising past. Its ancestor is Latin "concernere," built from "con-" ("together") and "cernere," meaning "to sift" or "to distinguish," so the original picture was of things being mixed or sifted together in a sieve. Medieval Latin shifted the sense toward "distinguishing" or "having respect to" something, and Middle French "concerner" carried that meaning into French, where it came to mean "to relate to" or "to bear upon." English borrowed the word from French, and its sense moved from physical sifting to something that touches or matters to a person. The noun "concerns," as used here, names the matters that weigh on people's minds, which is a long way from a sieve. The earlier Latin meaning survives only in the idea of separating out what is significant from what is not.

Synonyms: worries, anxieties, issues, matters, troubles

Antonyms: calmness, serenity, composure, assurance, confidence