To overwhelm, oppress, or crush under a burden; to weigh heavily upon someone.
From Old French 'accabler,' derived from Latin 'ad-' (to) + 'cabulus' (possibly related to 'caballus,' horse). The word evolved to mean loading someone down as if with a heavy burden, like overloading a pack animal.
Medieval French used 'accabler' to literally describe piling too much cargo on a horse until it collapsed—over time, it became a metaphor for emotional or mental overwhelm, showing how languages borrow from physical experiences to describe feelings.
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