Word of the Day

: October 4, 2017

agita

noun AJ-uh-tuh

What It Means

: a feeling of agitation or anxiety

agita in Context

"Home-sharing through websites has meant more lodging choices for visitors to Massachusetts. But it's also become a source of considerable agita on Beacon Hill: How to tax and regulate this sudden behemoth?" — The Boston Globe, 18 June 2017

"According to an American Psychological Association (APA) report, 43 percent of women say they're more stressed out than they were five years…. Women under age 33 report the highest levels of agita of any generation, with those 33 to 46 close behind." — Shaun Dreisbach, Glamour, April 2016

Did You Know?

Judging by its spelling and meaning, you might think that agita is simply a shortened version of agitation, but that's not the case. Both agitation and the verb it comes from, agitate, derive from Latin agere, meaning "to drive." Agita, which first appeared in American English in the mid-late 20th century, comes from a dialectical pronunciation of the Italian word acido, meaning "heartburn" or "acid," from Latin acidus. (Agita is also occasionally used in English with the meaning "heartburn.") For a while the word's usage was limited to New York City and surrounding regions, but the word became more widespread in the mid-1990s.