comfort
See also: Comfort
English edit
Etymology edit
- The verb is from Middle English comforten, from Old French conforter, from Late Latin confortō (“to strengthen greatly”), itself from Latin con- (“together”) + fortis (“strong”).
- The noun is from Middle English comfort, from Old French cunfort, confort, from the stem of Late Latin confortō. It replaced Old English frofor, Middle English frovre.
Pronunciation edit
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈkʌm.fət/
- (Northern England) IPA(key): /ˈkʊm.fət/
- (General American) enPR: kŭm'fərt, IPA(key): /ˈkʌm.fɚt/, [ˈkʰʌɱ.fɚt]
- (obsolete) enPR: kŭmfôrt', IPA(key): /kʌmˈfɔɹt/
Audio (US) (file)
Noun edit
comfort (countable and uncountable, plural comforts)
- Contentment, ease.
- Sleep in comfort with our new mattress.
- 1684, chapter III, in Bucaniers of America: Or, A True Account of the Moſt Remarkable Aſſaults Committed of Late Years Upon the Coaſts of the West-Indies, by Bucaniers of Jamica and Tortuga, Both English and French; Wherein are Contained More Eſpecially, the Unparallel'd Exploits of Sir Henry Morgan, Our Engliſh Jamaican Hero, who ſack'd Puerto Velo, Burnt Panama. &c [Part II][1], volume 1, London: Printed for William Crooke, translation of De Americaensche Zee-Roovers, […] by John Eſquemeling, page 30:
- But all was in vain: For having ranged up and down the Woods for ſome days, without finding the leaſt comfort to their hungry deſires, they were forced to return again unto the River. […] At laſt they arrived at the Coaſt of the Sea, where they found ſome comfort and relief to their former miſeries, and alſo means to ſeek more.
- 1850, T. S. Arthur, “A Rise in the Butter Market”, in Sketches of Life and Character[2], Philadelphia: J. W. Bradley, →OCLC, page 59:
- How often is the comfort of a whole family abridged by some trifling circumstance, that ought not to have made a visible impression!
- 1937 September 21, J[ohn] R[onald] R[euel] Tolkien, chapter I, in The Hobbit: Or There and Back Again, 3rd edition, London: Unwin Books, George Allen & Unwin, published 1966 (1970 printing), →ISBN, page 1:
- In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, […] nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole […] : it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.
- Something that offers comfort.
- the comforts of home
- A consolation; something relieving suffering or worry.
- We still have the spare tire? That's a comfort at least.
- A cause of relief or satisfaction.
- The outcome of the peace negotiations in Moscow in 1940 was a heavy blow to the young nation, but in the same time a great comfort: at least the independency was preserved.
Synonyms edit
Antonyms edit
- (antonym(s) of "contentment, ease"): austerity
Derived terms edit
- cold comfort
- comfortability
- comfortable
- comfort break
- comfort-eat
- comfort eating
- comfort fic
- comfort food
- comfort girl
- comfort letter
- comfort noise
- comfort room
- comfort station
- comfort stop
- comfort tone
- comfort woman
- comfort zone
- creature comfort
- discomfort
- Dutch comfort
- Job's comfort
- Lawson comfort criterion
- letter of comfort
- lip comfort
- too close for comfort
Translations edit
contentment, ease
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consolation
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cause of relief or satisfaction
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Verb edit
comfort (third-person singular simple present comforts, present participle comforting, simple past and past participle comforted)
- (transitive) To relieve the distress or suffering of; to provide comfort to.
- Rob comforted Aaron because he was lost and very sad.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 86:17:
- Shew me a token foꝛ good, that they which hate me may ſee it, and bee aſhamed: becauſe thou, Lord, hast holpen me, and comfoꝛted me.
- 1631, Francis [Bacon], “(please specify |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], 3rd edition, London: […] William Rawley; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:
- Light, above all things, excelleth in comforting the spirits of men.
- (obsolete) To make strong; to invigorate; to fortify; to corroborate.
- 1594–1597, Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Will[iam] Stansby [for Matthew Lownes], published 1611, →OCLC, (please specify the page):
- God's own testimony […] doth not a little comfort and confirm the same.
- (obsolete) To assist or help; to aid.
- 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
- I […] cannot help the noble chevalier: / God comfort him in this necessity!
Synonyms edit
Derived terms edit
- comforter
- comforting (adjective, noun)
Translations edit
to provide comfort to — see also console
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Dutch edit
Etymology edit
From Middle Dutch confoort, from Old French confort.
Pronunciation edit
- (Netherlands) IPA(key): /kɔmˈfɔːr/
- (Belgium) IPA(key): /kɔmˈfɔr(t)/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: com‧fort
Noun edit
comfort n (plural comforts, diminutive comfortje n)
Derived terms edit
Middle English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Old French cunfort, confort.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
comfort (plural comforts)
Descendants edit
References edit
- “cǒmfort, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.