History of Sorry

From Middle English sory, from Old English sāriġ ‎(“feeling or expressing grief, sorry, grieved, sorrowful, sad, mournful, bitter”), from Proto-Germanic *sairagaz ‎(“sad”), from Proto-Indo-European *sayǝw- ‎(“hard, rough, painful”). Cognate with Scots sairie ‎(“sad, grieved”), West Frisian searich ‎(“sad, sorry”), Low German serig ‎(“sick, scabby”), German dialectal sehrig ‎(“sore, sad, painful”), Swedish sårig.
sorry ‎(comparative sorrier, superlative sorriest)
(of a person) Regretful for an action; grieved or saddened, especially by the loss of something or someone.
I am sorry I stepped on your toes. It was an accident.
I am sorry to hear of your uncle's death.
Poor, sad or regrettable.
The storm left his garden in a sorry state.
(regretful for an action or grieved): apologetic, attritional, compunctious, contrite, heavyhearted, melancholy, mournful, penitent, penitential, regretful, remorseful, repentant, sad, unhappy
better safe than sorry
supersorry
sorry
Expresses regret, remorse, or sorrow.
Sorry! I didn't see that you were on the phone.
Used as a request for someone to repeat something not heard or understood clearly.
Sorry? What was that? The phone cut out.
Synonyms[edit]
(request to repeat): I beg your pardon?, I'm sorry?, come again?, excuse me? (US)
Noun[edit]
sorry ‎(plural sorries)
The act of saying sorry; an apology.
Related terms[edit]
sorrow
sorrowful
Statistics[edit]
Most common English words before 1923: example · class · century · #985: sorry · share · working · breath
External links[edit]
sorry in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
sorry in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
Etymology[edit]
From English sorry.
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio
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Interjection[edit]
sorry
sorry (expressing regret)
Je hebt me heel erg pijn gedaan toen je dat zei. — Sorry, dat is nooit mijn bedoeling geweest.
You really hurt me a lot when you said that. — Sorry, that was never my intention.
sorry, pardon, excuse me
Je stond op mijn voet! — Oh, sorry!
You were standing on my foot! — Oh, sorry!
Synonyms[edit]
(expressing regret): het spijt me
(pardon): pardon, excuseer
Pronunciation[edit]
(Received Pronunciation) enPR: sô, IPA(key): /sɔː/
(General American) enPR: sôr, IPA(key): /sɔɹ/
(rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) enPR: sōr, IPA(key): /so(ː)ɹ/
(non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA(key): /soə/
Homophone: soar; saw (in non-rhotic accents)
Sorry! is a board game that is based on the ancient Cross and Circle game Pachisi. Players try to travel around the board with their pieces faster than any other player. Originally manufactured by BCM (British Card Manufacturers) in England and now by Hasbro, Sorry! is marketed for two to four players, ages six through adult. The game title comes from the many ways in which a player can negate the progress of another, while issuing an apologetic "Sorry!" A classic edition of Sorry! is currently produced in the US by Winning Moves.
The earliest variation of today's Sorry! can be traced back to England. William Henry Storey of Southend-on-Sea filed for a patent. Sorry! was registered as a trade mark on 21 May 1929 (UK number 502898). Early games were manufactured by BCM (British Card Manufacturers).
A Canadian patent followed in 1932.[1] An English patent was granted to the inventor in 1933.
It was subsequently trademarked in the UK to Waddingtons, the British games manufacturer who sold it from 1934.[2][3]
Sorry! was adopted by Parker Brothers in 1934. Hasbro now publishes it, as they purchased Parker Brothers in 1991.
The objective is to be the first player to get all four of their color pawns from their start location to their "home" space. The pawns are normally moved in a clockwise direction, but can be moved backward if directed. Movement of pawns are directed by the drawing of a card.
The board game is laid out in a square with sixteen spaces per side, with each player assigned his or her own colored Start location and Home locations offset towards the center, one per side. Four five-square paths, one per color, lead from the common outer path towards a player's Home and are designated his or her "Safety Zone." On each side are two "Slides," grouping four or five spaces each.
Older versions of Sorry! contain a colored "diamond space" directly one space back from each start square, with the rules stating that a pawn of the diamond's color may not move forwards over this square. Instead, a player of that color must diverge from the outer square towards his or her "Home." Although the diamond and corresponding rule were removed from subsequent printings of the game, th