difficulty
Meaning
the state or condition of being hard to do, deal with, or understand; trouble.
a problem or thing that is hard to deal with.
Structure
Usage
She had great difficulty finding a job after graduation.
The main difficulty with the plan is its cost.
He spoke with difficulty after the surgery.
Etymology
The word 'difficulty' originates from the Latin 'difficultas', which itself is built from the prefix 'dis-' (implying reversal or negation) and the root 'facilis' (meaning 'easy'). The literal, ancient sense was "the state of not being easy." This concept traveled into English via Old French 'difficulte'. Over time, the abstract notion of "the condition of not being easy" evolved to encompass the specific modern meanings of a challenging situation or a particular problem that causes such a state. The morphemic logic directly connects the ancient idea of "apart from ease" to our contemporary understanding of hardship or obstruction.
Analysis
- dif: A form of the Latin prefix 'dis-', meaning 'apart, asunder, away, having a negative or reversing force'. It assimilates to 'dif-' before 'f'. - ficult: From Latin 'facilis', meaning 'easy to do'. The stem 'facul-' (from 'facilis') evolved into the Old French 'difficulte', with 'ficul' becoming 'ficult' in English. - y: A noun-forming suffix from Latin '-ia' or Greek '-ia', via Old French '-ie', denoting state, condition, or quality.