the.com/agitate
To shake things up on purpose, hoping the truth settles out on top
means To stir something up—whether a liquid or a crowd—in order to provoke action, change, or reaction.
from From Latin 'agitare,' meaning 'to drive, chase, or keep in motion'—itself a frequentative of 'agere,' 'to do or drive.' So agitate literally means to keep driving something, over and over, until it moves. Latin used it for shaking liquids and harrying armies alike; English kept both senses, letting the word slide easily from a shaken bottle to a shaken society.
- origin
- latin agitare, to drive or keep moving
- dual use
- means both stir liquid and stir conscience
- political sense
- emerged 1700s with reform and abolition movements
- physics cousin
- washing machines agitate; so did suffragettes