Etymology Dictionary

UPROAR,  a tumult, clamour, disturbance.  (Du.)   In Acts, xvii. 5, xix. 40, xx. 1, xxi. 31, 38; in Shak. Lucrece, 427, we have:  'his eye... Unto a greater uproar tempts his veins;' where there is no notion of noise, but only of excitement or disturbance.   'To haue all the worlde in an vprore, and vnquieted with warres;' Udall, on St. Mark, preface (R.)   Spelt uprore in Levins.   It is a corrupt form, due to confusion with E. roar, with which it has no real connection; it is not an E. word at all, but borrowed from Dutch.—Du. oproer, 'uprore, tumult, commotion, mutiny, or sedition; oproer maken, to make an vprore; oproerigh, seditions, or tumultuous;' Hexham.—Du. op, up; and roeren, to stir, move, touch; so that uproer = a stirring up, commotion, excitement.   [Formerly also spelt rueren (Hexham); the Du. oe is pronounced as E. oo; Du. boer = E. boor.] + Swed. uppror, revolt, sedition; allied to upp, up, and röra, to stir. + Dan. oprör, revolt; opröre, to stir up; from op, up; and röre, to stir. + G. aufruhr, tumult, aufrühren, to stir up; from G. auf, up, and rühren, to stir.   β. The verb appears as Du. roeren, Swed. röra, Dan. röre, Icel. hræra, G. rühren, A.S. hréran, to stir; and is the same word as rear- or rere- in E. rearmouse, reremouse, a bat; see Reremouse.   γ. The A.S. hréran, to stir, agitate, is from hrór, motion, allied to hrór, adj., active (by the usual change from ó to é); the Swed. uppror preserves the orig. unmodified o.   Der. uproar-i-ous, an ill-coined word; uproar-i-ous-ly, -ness.