If you harangue someone, you verbally attack them in a confrontational way, usually for quite a long time. Harangue is also a noun, so you can ‘deliver a harangue’ (think Trump, immigrants and pets).
People have been haranguing each other about all sorts since the late 16th century, when this word first appeared in English. It comes from an Old Italian term ‘aringo’, meaning ‘public assembly’ or ‘a place for public speaking’. This word is from a Medieval Latin word ‘harenga’, which referred to a speech delivered in a public setting. And for a time, a ‘harangue’ was a term for any formal, impassioned speech, often by a political or military leader. Figures like Napoleon and General Patton were known for delivering harangues – impassioned, sometimes aggressive addresses to inspire and rally their troops.
In the late 17th century ‘harangue’s meaning gradually shifted to the one it has today of a long, aggressive or scolding lecture or rant. This might simply be because there was a cultural shift in the way we perceive speeches – things that used to be motivational or persuasive were now seen as tiresome or irritating.
The official Guinness World Record for the longest lecture marathon belongs to Arvind Mishra of India. Mishra delivered a lecture on scientific computation at Graphic Era University in Dehradun, India, which lasted 139 hours, 42 minutes and 56 seconds in March 2014. Numb bums all round, I’m sure.