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obstreperous: msg#00026culture.language.word-of-the-day
***************************************************************** Calling all new word spotters! Now there's a forum for your lexical discoveries--join Merriam-Webster Unabridged today! http://www.merriam-webster.com/premium/ ***************************************************************** The Word of the Day for June 27 is: obstreperous \ub-STREP-uh-russ\ adjective 1 : uncontrollably noisy *2 : stubbornly resistant to control : unruly Example sentence: Keith admitted that he had been an obstreperous teenager until he got his first summer job and learned some self- discipline. Did you know? The handy Latin preposition "ob," meaning "in the way," "against," or "toward," occurs as a prefix in many Latin and English words. "Obstreperous" comes from "ob-" plus "strepere," a verb meaning "to make a noise," so someone who is obstreperous is literally making noise to rebel against something, much like a protesting crowd or an unruly child. The word has been used in English since around the 17th century. "Strepere" has not played a role in the formation of any other notable English words, but "ob-" words abound; these include "obese," "obnoxious," "occasion," "offend," "omit," "oppr ess," and "oust." *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. |
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