(no subject)
Today's Word: Churlish (Adjective)
Pronunciation: [chêrl-ish]
Definition 1: Like a churl: rude, burly, boorish, vulgar; difficult to work or
communicate with.
Usage 1: Today's word is an adjective derived from the noun, churl "a rude,
unruly fellow." The adverb is "churlishly" and the usual noun is "churlishness"
but "churlhood" has also been used.
Suggested Usage: The meaning of today's word applies to a level of antisocial
behavior that we recoil from, "I thought it rather churlish of him to tell me in
front of everyone that I had to stop playing games on the computer or find
another job." Although "churlishness" is a much more modern noun from this word,
"churlhood" may offer greater creative opportunities, "Her son, Willy went
directly from childhood to churlhood." Of course, a churlish gust of wind could
disrupt your picnic or stir up a churlish sea.
Etymology: Today's word has taken an amazing journey through many different
languages, where it acquired meanings ranging from "churl" to "king." It
originated as Proto-Germanic *karilaz. The Old Norse descendant of this word
became karl "old man," a word which spread throughout the Germanic languages as
a man's name. In Old High German, the ancestor of modern German, it became karal
"man, husband" (today Kerl "guy, fellow") whence it was borrowed into French as
"Charles" and Medieval Latin as "Carolus." Charlemagne [Charles le magne]
"Charles the Great" had such an impact on Europe, that the Slavic nations
borrowed his name as their general word for "king" (e.g. Serbian kralj, Russian
korol'). In Old English, however, the word took a nose dive in the opposite
direction: in ceorl the meaning dropped from "old man" to "peasant," whose
behavior the upper classes always considered "churlish." Since the upper classes
have historically determined how we speak, a churl is what he is today.
in other news:
for those of you playing the home game, denny's is no more. i drove by and confirmed this today. it is gone.
Pronunciation: [chêrl-ish]
Definition 1: Like a churl: rude, burly, boorish, vulgar; difficult to work or
communicate with.
Usage 1: Today's word is an adjective derived from the noun, churl "a rude,
unruly fellow." The adverb is "churlishly" and the usual noun is "churlishness"
but "churlhood" has also been used.
Suggested Usage: The meaning of today's word applies to a level of antisocial
behavior that we recoil from, "I thought it rather churlish of him to tell me in
front of everyone that I had to stop playing games on the computer or find
another job." Although "churlishness" is a much more modern noun from this word,
"churlhood" may offer greater creative opportunities, "Her son, Willy went
directly from childhood to churlhood." Of course, a churlish gust of wind could
disrupt your picnic or stir up a churlish sea.
Etymology: Today's word has taken an amazing journey through many different
languages, where it acquired meanings ranging from "churl" to "king." It
originated as Proto-Germanic *karilaz. The Old Norse descendant of this word
became karl "old man," a word which spread throughout the Germanic languages as
a man's name. In Old High German, the ancestor of modern German, it became karal
"man, husband" (today Kerl "guy, fellow") whence it was borrowed into French as
"Charles" and Medieval Latin as "Carolus." Charlemagne [Charles le magne]
"Charles the Great" had such an impact on Europe, that the Slavic nations
borrowed his name as their general word for "king" (e.g. Serbian kralj, Russian
korol'). In Old English, however, the word took a nose dive in the opposite
direction: in ceorl the meaning dropped from "old man" to "peasant," whose
behavior the upper classes always considered "churlish." Since the upper classes
have historically determined how we speak, a churl is what he is today.
in other news:
for those of you playing the home game, denny's is no more. i drove by and confirmed this today. it is gone.