nuisance
UK[ˈnjuːsns]US[ˈnuːsns]
n
a person, thing, or situation that is annoying or causes trouble or inconvenience
Etymology
The word 'nuisance' entered English in the late 15th century via Anglo-French nusaunce or nuisance, meaning "injury, hurt, harm." This derives from the Old French verb nuire, "to harm," which itself originates from the Latin verb nocēre, meaning "to harm, to injure." The semantic journey is direct: from the concrete act of causing injury in Latin, to a legal term for "harm or annoyance" in Anglo-French law, and finally broadening in modern English to describe any source of persistent annoyance or inconvenience, losing its strictly physical sense of harm.
Analysis
This word is a simplex loanword from Anglo-French. It does not contain separable, productive morphemes in modern English spelling.
Examples
The constant noise from the construction site was a real nuisance to the local residents.
Mosquitoes are such a nuisance on summer evenings.
He considered the lengthy paperwork a necessary nuisance of the job.