To irritate or make someone feel slightly angry through persistent or repeated actions.
From Old French 'anoier' meaning 'to weary, vex', derived from Latin 'inodiare' meaning 'to make hateful'. The Latin root 'odium' means hatred, though the modern meaning has softened considerably from its original intensity.
The word 'annoy' has mellowed dramatically over centuries—it once meant to make someone genuinely hateful or hostile, but now describes minor irritations like a dripping faucet. This linguistic softening reflects how we've become more precise in describing gradations of anger and frustration.
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