Remorse

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Late Middle English: from Old French remors, from medieval Latin remorsus, from Latin remordere 'vex', from re-(expressing intensive force) + mordere 'to bite'.

The idea behind remorse is of regret or guilt that eats away at you, prompting you to repent. The word goes back to Latin remordere ‘to annoy, trouble’. The first part of the word, re-, adds intensity, and the second is mordere ‘to bite’. As re- most often means ‘again’ in a word, remorse was literally translated in Middle English as ‘again-bite’. There is a famous English religious work called Agenbite of Inwyt (‘Remorse of Conscience’) written c.1340. James Joyce used the expression in Ulysses (1922), thereby introducing it to a wider audience.

re-, 向后，往回，mors-, 咬，词源同 mordant, morsel。比喻用法：过去的事不断的撕咬着内心，让人心生后悔或者愧疚。