Fear in the Understory

bristling hedgehogs and other phobogenics

Fear has many eyes and can see things underground.

〰 Miguel de Cervantes 〰

Pjotr Laskawski on Unsplash

Out of Peace by 1/3rd of a Shock

March on, and fear not the thorns, or the sharp stones on life's path.

〰 Khalil Gibran 〰

In last week’s wordcast Fear on Safari, we discovered that fear didn’t always mean what we associate with the word today. Fear was once used in a transitive sense ~ to drive fear into someone ~ instead of the intransitive to experience a specific type of internal emotional turbulence.

On the flip side, our English speaking ancestors had other words to express what we now call ‘fear’. A whole vocabulary, in fact. Some of these phobogenic vocables have changed their meanings over time.

To show, explore, and become familiar with the relationship between these fear-words I have created a new terminological category: Phobogenic Words.

Words ~ not unlike humans ~ can reveal their fuller character, purpose, meaning and identity in the spaces between each other. Gathered here, in the understory of the wildwordwoods, they might feel a little overwhelming.

That’s normal. It’s what fear does to us. Yet whenever we get swamped by fear, the only way out is through…

Browsing our dictionaries, we can find a shocking number and range of such phobogenics. A frightful gang of inner terrors ~ about one third of a shock, to be precise. Let’s be brave and take a closer look at them.

1 - Affray [from hybrid Latin exfridare = to take out of peace] c. 1300 (noun) fear, terror, state of alarm, disturbance, fright; (verb) to worry, concern, trouble, disturb, terrify, frighten.

Although affray is no longer in use as a noun or verb, it has survived in the adjective afraid [from Latin ex = out of + Old Saxon frithu = peace] in the sense of fearful, influenced by fear, worried, troubled (from early 14 c.)

Afraid (since 1590s) can describe anything from a mild state of concern or regret via apprehension or worries to a full blown shock, fright or phobia. It includes the whole spectrum of fear, the alertness of being cautious or prudent, the jitteriness of shy, the jumpiness of startled, all the way to the paralysis of being panic-stricken or spooked by terror.

2 - Agitation [from Latin agitatio = noun of agere = set in motion, drive forward, keep in movement] originally used in English in the sense of debate, discussion (1560s), state of being shaken or moving violently (1580s), being mentally or emotionally shaken (1722), arousing and sustaining public attention (1828).

Agitated is an internal state of excitement. When agitated, we experience a turbulence of the inner ocean, or the ‘geological upheavals of thought’, as suggested by philosopher Martha Nussbaum. (See my previous wordcast Unidentified Griefcases)

3 - Alarm [from Italian all’arme = to arms!] literally a call to arms in the face of danger or an approaching enemy. Used in the sense of fear, fright, anxiety, distress, trepidation, shock, dread, panic, terror, horror.

Alarmed describes a sense of imminent danger. This inner state is the biological equivalent of a manmade installation to offer security, ward off evil, and warn inhabitants and owners of an invasion into their private space.

4 - Angst [from German Angst = fear] adopted in English (early 20 c) in the context of psychology, through translation of Freud’s work, in the sense of neurotic fear, pathological anxiety, guilt, remorse.

Angsting is a relatively young addition to our phobogenic vocabulary. It overlaps with agonising (to be examined in a future wordcast), being anxious, apprehensive, preoccupied, worrying.

5 - Anxiety [from Latin anxius = troubled in mind – from angere = to choke, squeeze] apprehension caused by danger, misfortune, or error, uneasiness of mind due to uncertainty, a restless dread of evil.

anxious = originally greatly troubled by uncertainty (from 1548); later filled with the sense of eager, ardently or earnestly wishing (from 1742).

6 - Apprehensive [from Latin apprehendere = to take hold of, grasp, seize] capable of grasping with the mind (c. 1600), fearful of what is to come (from 1630s).

The second meaning has not changed. Apprehension describes a mental state of viewing the future with anxiety or alarm.

The seventh of our phobogenics on this alphabetical list doesn’t look frightening at first glance. Nowadays we use this scary/ scared word mainly in the spirit of admiration, reverence, amazement, and wonder….

7 - Awe [from Old Norse agi = terror, fright] took on the meanings terror, dread, extreme reverence, veneration, something to be feared in Middle English. The context for this experience was originally religious, capturing the close relationship between devoted adoration and extreme fear of a divine being.

Awesome [inspiring awe] is commonly used in the positive sense of terrific, extraordinary.

Awful [full of awe] once used in the sense of being afraid or terrified, later took on the meaning of terrible or extremely disagreeable, and is now often used in the neutral sense of extremely.

8 - Concerned [from Latin con = together + cernere = to sift] the meaning of uneasy, troubled, anxious was first recorded in the 1650s.

Concern now overlaps with anxiousness, worry, but can also carry a more positive meaning of genuine interest, care, consideration, and thoughtfulness. In a neutral sense, it points to a specific relationship or connection.

9 - Dismay [from Old French esmaier = to trouble, disturb — hybrid from Latin dis = without + Old German Macht = might, power] literally to be dispirited, discouraged, disheartened through a sense of loss of ability or power. From 1300 c. To become or be alarmed, upset or frightened; fear of calamity.

Being dismayed now means to lose courage or resolution caused by alarm or fear, to be deeply disappointed, anxious, worried, upset or distressed due to an unexpected turn of events.

10 - Distress [from Latin dis = extreme + stringere = draw tight, press or pull together] afflict with mental or physical pain, coerce, harass, constrain by suffering; affliction, narrowness, circumstance causing anxiety or hardship (late 13c.).

Distress (noun) now means pain or suffering affecting the body or mind; a state of danger or desperate need.

Distress (verb) to cause suffering, impose a threat, or deprive someone (including oneself) of physical or emotional needs.

11 - Doubt [from Old French dote = fear, dread; uncertainty about the truth of something] originally adopted in English in the sense of to dread, fear, be afraid (1200). Later to be uncertain, hesitate, waver in opinion; distrust (1300).

The meaning of doubt (noun) has now settled on the sense of uncertainty, distrust, disbelief, lack of conviction or faith, suspicion, scepticism.

The verb to doubt means to question the truth of something.

12 - Dread [from Old Saxon andradon = to counsel, advise against] is originally a verb, used in the sense of to shrink from, fear very much. This is similar to the contemporary definition of to anticipate with great apprehension or fear.

As a noun, dread became a fundamental category of existentialism. “According to the 19th-century philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, dread, or angst, is a desire for what one fears and is central to his conception of original sin.” (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

13 - Fright [Old English fyrhtu = fear, dread, trembling, horrible sight] was originally used in the same broader sense as today’s fear. The two words don’t share etymological roots. When the meaning of fear changed and took the place of fright in the dictionary, the application of fright became reduced to the familiar sudden fear, alarm caused by shock or unexpected danger.

14 - Funk [Scottish funk = become afraid, shrink through fear, fail through panic] cowering state of fear; depression, ill-humour, perturbation, distress.

15 - Horror [from Latin horror = dread, veneration, religious awe] came into English in early 14 c. In the sense of feeling of disgust. The related Latin verb horrere means to bristle with fear. It is derived from the Latin noun eris = hedgehog.

Horror has also given birth to abhor (= to shrink back in dread and horror) and horripilation (= hair standing on end due to fear or excitement)

The original word has now been appropriated mainly by the film and entertainment industry. Contemporary definitions of horror include painful and intense fear, dread, or dismay, intense aversion, repugnance or disgust. Something that arouses such feelings (e.g. a story, film, scene or book)

16 - Panic [from Greek panikon = pertaining to Pan the god of woods and fields, who made mysterious sounds that caused contagious, groundless fear in herds and crowds, or in people in lonely spots] adopted in English first as an adjective in the sense of the mental/ emotional state induced by Pan (beginning of 17t c).

Panic is now used in the sense of acute extreme anxiety in response to a perceived threat, sudden overpowering fright or fear causing unreasonable behaviour.

17 - Phobia [from Greek phobos = fear, panic, terror] fear, horror, or aversion (1786). In the psychological sense of abnormal or irrational fear (by 1895)

-phobia word forming element combined with many words in the sense of excessive, irrational, or pathological fear since 1800.

Phobia in its contemporary sense is a chronic extreme anxiety or fear triggered by specific situations, objects, animals, or phenomena.

18 - Shock [from Germanic Schock = heap, pile, stack] originally a measure for a large number, later specified as 60 pieces. Adopted in English in the sense of “sheaves of grain placed on-end and leaning against one another in a field, arranged so as to shed rain and allow the grain to dry” (early 14 c), e.g. a shock of corn.

Used in the sense of French choc = violent attack (1560s), violent collision (1610s), sudden disturbing impression on the mind (1705), sudden electric surge (1746), emotional state of extreme fear caused by trauma (1804), feeling of being mentally shocked, leading to paralysis by fear (1876).

Shock is now used in the sense of sudden physical, mental, or emotional disturbance caused by violent impact from an external source.

19 - Terror [from Latin terror = great fear, dread, alarm, panic] was adopted in English in early 15 c. The meaning extreme fear, overwhelming dread has not changed. Associations with politically motivated attacks are relatively recent.

In its contemporary general use, terror can be either an internal mental/ emotional state of intense or overwhelming fear, or an external condition of violence used as a weapon of intimidation or coercion, triggering the corresponding inner state.

20 - Worry [from Old English wyrgan = to strangle] anxiety arising from cares and troubles (1804).

As a verb, worry can be used both in the transitive sense ~ to make someone anxious, to afflict someone with mental/ emotional distress or agitation ~ or in the intransitive sense ~ to be overcome with an overwhelming sense of anxiety or disturbing thoughts.

Sylvester Aswin Stanley ‘Devil’s Bridge’ on Unsplash

The Devils We Know

What the mind doesn’t understand, it worships or fears.

〰 Alice Walker 〰

In Greek mythology, Phobos and Deimos are twin brothers, sons of Ares, the god of war, and Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty, and pleasure. Phobos is the personification of fear and panic. Deimos is personified terror. (Some sources swap those associations around).

Wherever Ares drives into battle, his twin sons accompany him. His sister Eris ~ the divine personification of hatred and strife ~ a paternal aunt of Phobos and Deimos, also joins the family activity known as warfare.

The warmongering residents of Mount Olympus are not the only gods and goddesses who inspire fear. In Norse mythology we have Thor, the god of thunder, wielding his mighty hammer, defending the divine folks from threats and keeping lesser mortals suspended between reverence and terror.

In ancient Egypt, Sekhmet, the shapeshifting goddess also known as the Lioness of Wrath, threatens her enemies with plagues and pestilence.

Kali, the ferocious and powerful Hindu goddess, embodies destruction and transformation, inspiring awe and fear in her devotees.

The Aztec god Tezcatlipoca, a fearsome deity associated with fate and sorcery, a creator god and destructive force, demands human sacrifice to ensure the survival of the world.

The embodiment of evil and darkness in the Zoroastrian tradition is Ahriman. Commanding a prolific army of evil spirits and demons to challenge his opponent, the god of light and goodness, Ahriman spreads chaos, deceit, suffering, destruction, and death.

Tiamat, the primordial goddess of chaos and destruction, is revered and feared in the Babylonian creation myth. She is the primary antagonist of Marduk, both a creator-god and a warrior-god associated with thunderstorms.

All these ancient goddesses and gods are born of creation myths, which remind human worshippers of the life giving and destructive forces of nature, including our own human nature.

The God(s) of the Abrahamic religions, direct descendant(s) of Marduk & Tiamat, fit perfectly into the global tribe of divine creator-creatures. Jehovah, God, Allah ~ the divine trio born in Mesopotamia, the homeland of Paradise ~ still have the power to instill awe, respect, reverence, and terror in human consciousness.

Deborah Varrie on Unsplash

Sometimes a Wild Dog

Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil.

〰 Aristotle 〰

The other day Josh went out for an evening walk around the outskirts of our village. On the way home he was caught out by nightfall in a spot beyond streetlamps.

A growling came from somewhere in the unkown of darkness…

The threatening sound hit the gut, got entrails lurching, mind racing. “…didn’t Rui say something about big wild dogs roaming the area…?”

Josh remembered the owner of our village café telling him to be careful, especially after dark. The experience gave birth to a living poem.

Sometimes a Wild Dog¹

Paralysed by fear 
impossible 
to think straight
to decide what to do
   on your own in the dark
      on the edge of a Portuguese village 
when a growling sound
   could be a wild animal 
      could attack any moment
Run! Hide! Where? Shout? 
a motor revving up 
unscrambles the knotted web of fear  
a guy on a motorcycle drives past 
rumbling fades into the night.

Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth

〰 Pema Chödron 〰

1. Title inspired by Tom Hirons’ poem »Sometimes a Wild God«