different between harm vs afflict

English

Etymology

From Middle English harm, herm, from Old English hearm, from Proto-West Germanic *harm, from Proto-Germanic *harmaz (“harm; shame; pain”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /h??m/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /h??m/
• Rhymes: -??(?)m

Noun

harm (countable and uncountable, plural harms)

1. physical injury; hurt; damage

2. emotional or figurative hurt
3. detriment; misfortune.

4. That which causes injury, damage, or loss.

Usage notes

• Adjectives often applied to "harm": bodily, physical, environmental, emotional, financial, serious, irreparable, potential, long-term, short-term, permanent, lasting, material, substantial.

Translations

Verb

harm (third-person singular simple present harms, present participle harming, simple past and past participle harmed)

1. To cause injury to another; to hurt; to cause damage to something.

Translations

Derived terms

Anagrams

• Hmar, mahr

Icelandic

Noun

harm

1. indefinite accusative singular of harmur

Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ha???m?/

Noun

harm

1. h-prothesized form of arm

Middle English

Alternative forms

• harem, arme, herme

Etymology

From Old English hearm, from Proto-West Germanic *harm.

Noun

harm (plural harms)

1. harm, injury, ruination

Descendants

• English: harm
• Scots: herm, hairm
• Yola: harrm

References

• “harm, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *harmaz.

Noun

harm m

1. harm

Descendants

• Middle Low German: harm, herm

English

Etymology

From Old French aflicter, from Latin afflictare (“to damage, harass, torment”), frequentative of affligere (“to dash down, overthrow”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??fl?kt/
• Rhymes: -?kt
• Hyphenation: af?flict

Verb

afflict (third-person singular simple present afflicts, present participle afflicting, simple past and past participle afflicted)

1. (transitive) To cause (someone) pain, suffering or distress.
2. (obsolete) To strike or cast down; to overthrow.
3. (obsolete) To make low or humble.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Edmund Spenser to this entry?)

   • 1650, Jeremy Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living

     Men are apt to prefer a prosperous error before an afflicted truth.

Related terms

• affliction
• afflictive

Translations

Scots

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??fl?k(t)/

Verb

afflict (third-person singular present afflicts, present participle afflictin, past afflictit, past participle afflictit)

1. to afflict

References

• Eagle, Andy, ed. (2016) The Online Scots Dictionary, Scots Online.