dudgeon

*****************************************************************
Discover the people and events that made history ON THIS DAY. 
Sign up for the free daily newsletter from Britannica.
http://register.britannica.com/mailinglist
*****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for August 22 is: 

dudgeon   \DUH-jun\   noun 
     : a fit or state of indignation 

Example sentence: 
     The assistant cook stormed out of the kitchen in high 
dudgeon after being lambasted -- unjustifiably, in his opinion --
by the head chef. 

Did you know? 
     "Dudgeon" is today most often used in the phrase "in high 
dudgeon" (which in turn sometimes gives rise to playful 
variations such as "middling dudgeon," "intermediate 
dudgeon," "towering dudgeon," "lofty dudgeon," and so on). It's 
a mystery where the expression came from, however. (Conjectures 
as to a connection to a Welsh word, "dygen," meaning "malice," 
have no basis.) There does not appear to be any connection 
whatever to the very old "dudgeon" -- a now obsolete term once 
used for a dagger or a kind of wood out of which dagger handles 
were made. But since at least 1573 curmudgeons and others have 
expressed their indignation with "dudgeon."