Noysaunce

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic term for something that causes annoyance, irritation, or harm to another person
2. Old-fashioned word for a source of vexation, trouble, or injury inflicted on someone
3. A obsolete noun meaning a nuisance, a disturbing irritation, or something that troubles and harms

Etymology: Before it named a mild irritation, this word named real harm. "Noysaunce" is a Middle English form of what is now "annoyance," and in that period it could mean injury or trouble as well as vexation. It comes through Old French "anoier," to annoy, which is generally traced to a Vulgar Latin phrase built from Latin "in odio," meaning "in hatred." The core idea is being made to feel hated or ill-used. The spelling shows the French influence. The "-aunce" ending follows the Anglo-Norman pattern of nouns ending in "-ance" and "-aunce," which English adopted widely. Over the following centuries the word's sense seems to have shifted from serious harm toward everyday bother.