Today, the word "comfort" is used to indicate physical or emotional ease. It is also used to talk about the act of easing someone's distress. In both cases, the focus is on the absence, or reduction, of difficulties.
Would it surprise you to know that this is not what the word originally meant?
Those of you who are musical might make a connection between "comfort" and "forte". This would not be wrong. Both come from the Latin word "fortis", which means strong.
This, combined with the suffix "com-", became the Latin word "confortare", meaning strengthen. The French then adapted the word "confort" (noun) and "conforter" (verb), before it joined middle English as "comfort".
At the time, the meaning was still very similar to the Latin. As a verb, comfort meant to strengthen, support and console. This seems to imply that the purpose of consoling and supporting a friend was to strengthen them. Perhaps so they could handle the challenges facing them.
My question, then, is: how might knowing this affect the way we comfort each other?
I'd love to hear your thoughts below!
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