overweening

****************************************************************
Attention word gurus:  try WORD SWEEP!, the first board game to feature 
Merriam-Webster definitions! Available at Borders Bookstores.
http://www.wordsweep.com
****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for April 14 is:

overweening   \oh-ver-WEE-ning\   adjective
     1 : arrogant, presumptuous 
    *2 : immoderate, exaggerated

Example sentence:
     The overweening ambition of the novel's principal character eventually 
leads to his downfall.

Did you know? 
     "The overweening conceit which the greater part of men have of their own 
abilities is an ancient evil remarked by the philosophers and moralists of all 
ages." So wrote Adam Smith in his _The Wealth of Nations_. But while 
overweening conceit might be an age-old evil, the word "overweening" has only 
been part of English since the 14th century. It developed from the Middle 
English "overwening," the present participle of the verb "overwenen," which 
meant "to be arrogant." That term derived in turn from "wenen," which meant "to 
think" or "to imagine." Today, the adjective "overweening" is the most widely 
used of the "wenen" descendants, but historical texts also occasionally include 
"overween," a term for thinking too highly of your own opinion.

*Indicates the sense illustrated by the example sentence.





You Are Subscribed As: gclw-mw-wod7@xxxxxxxxx
To unsubscribe, change your e-mail address or to subscribe to the html
version of Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day, featuring audio
pronunciations, please visit:

http://mw.drhinternet.net/sm/wod/changeofaddress.iphtml

(c) 2007 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

Merriam-Webster, Inc.
47 Federal Street
P.O. Box 281
Springfield, MA 01102