Physical or emotional pressure and tension, or to emphasize something as important; the plural of stress or third-person singular verb form.
From Old French 'estresse' meaning narrowness or oppression, from Latin 'strictus' (tight). Originally meant physical pressure, then expanded to emotional pressure around the 1600s.
The term 'stress' in its modern psychological sense wasn't common until Hans Selye studied it in the 1930s—before that, people experienced stress but didn't have a scientific name for the body's reaction to challenges.
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