sad

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: A2 — Elementary

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. adjective experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness; ; - Christina Rossetti
  2. adjective of things that make you feel sad; ; ; ; - Christina Rossetti
  3. adjective bad; unfortunate

Etymology

From Middle English sad, from Old English sæd (“satisfied, full, sated, unable to handle more, weary”), from Proto-West Germanic *sad, from Proto-Germanic *sadaz (“sated, satisfied”), from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂- (“to satiate, satisfy”). Cognate to Saterland Frisian sääd, West Frisian sêd, Dutch zat, German Low German satt, German satt. The interjection sense is a reference to frequent usage of the word as an interjection in the tweets of Donald Trump, American businessman and politician (born 1946), President of the United States (2017–2021; a Trumpism.

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