Tafsir of As-Saffat 37:76

(From drowning, according to what is narrated from al-Suddi. It is also said: [from] the harm of his people. There is no obstacle to combining [these two meanings].)

Distress (al-karb), as stated by al-Raghib, is intense sorrow (al-ghamm). Its origin is from karb al-ard (tilling the earth), which is the turning of it by digging; thus, sorrow agitates the soul in the same manner that digging agitates the earth. It is also valid that it stems from the expression karabat al-shams (the sun drew near to setting), and the saying of the Arabs: "A vessel is karban," similar to qurban (near), meaning close to being full. Or, it may be from the karb, which is a thick knot in the rope of a bucket; and sorrow is sometimes described as a knot upon the heart.