Feeling hurt, angry, or upset by someone's words or actions. Experiencing displeasure or resentment due to perceived insult or slight.
From Latin 'offendere' meaning to strike against or stumble, from 'ob-' (against) + 'fendere' (to strike). The metaphorical sense of emotional hurt developed from the physical idea of striking or collision.
The word literally means to 'strike against' something, like stumbling over an obstacle. This physical origin explains why we use phrases like 'that rubbed me the wrong way' - emotional offense is conceptualized as a form of collision or friction.
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