logo       

irascible: msg#00028

culture.language.word-of-the-day

Subject: irascible

*****************************************************************
Bee a winner with our Unabridged Dictionary--the official
reference of the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/book.pl?w3.htm&1
*****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for May 29 is:

irascible \ih-RASS-uh-bul\ adjective
: marked by hot temper and easily provoked anger

Example sentence:
The boys knew they'd have to endure a tirade from their
irascible coach if they were late to football practice again.

Did you know?
If you try to take apart "irascible" in the same manner
as "irrational," "irresistible," or "irresponsible," you might
find yourself wondering what "ascible" means -- but that's not
how "irascible" came to be. The key to the meaning
of "irascible" isn't the negative prefix "ir-" (which is used
before words that begin with "r"), but the Latin noun "ira,"
meaning "anger." From "ira," which is also the root of "irate"
and "ire," came the Latin verb "irasci" ("to become angry"),
which led to the French "irascible." English speakers borrowed
the word from French in the 16th century.





<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Google Custom Search

News | FAQ | advertise