revulsion

The word revulsion originates from the Latin revulsio, which itself derives from the verb revellere, meaning "to pull back or tear away". This verb is a compound of the prefix re- ("back") and vellere ("to pull, tear"). The core physical sense was of a violent pulling away or wrenching. This literal meaning evolved metaphorically in medical Latin to describe the "drawing away" of disease or humors from a part of the body. By the mid-17th century, this medical abstraction paved the way for the modern psychological meaning: a sudden, forceful "pulling back" of one's feelings, resulting in intense disgust or a complete reversal of sentiment.

Structure: re (back/away) + vuls (to pull/tear) + ion (noun suffix) - re: Latin prefix meaning "back" or "away". - vuls: A stem from the Latin verb vellere, meaning "to pull, pluck, or tear". - ion: A suffix of Latin origin used to form nouns denoting an action or process, or its result.