Careworn is a compound of care and worn. Care is from Old English caru ('sorrow, anxiety'); worn is the past participle of wear, from Old English werian. The historical trail runs through caru in Old English and werian in Old English. Morphologically, careworn is transparent: it is a compound of care and worn. Used as an adjective, careworn now means "showing the effects of worry and prolonged anxiety", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as care. The modern word remains analyzable through its parts, which makes the semantic connection unusually direct.