adjective:
not easily managed; contrary
The mule is a froward animal.
c. 1300, Old English fromweard “turned from or away,” from from + -weard. The opposite of toward, it was Latin pervertus in early translations of the Psalms, and also meant “about to depart, departing,” and “doomed to die.”
I like this word, the opposite of toward. But [...]
adjective:
1. Ineffective; futile.
2. Being at leisure; lazy; indolent; idle.
3. Of no use.
Although the wild outer movements and the angular Minuet can take such clockwork precision, the Andante, with its obsessive, claustrophobic dialogues between strings and bassoons, seemed sluggish and otiose.
– Tim Ashley, “VPO/Maazel”, The Guardian, April 16, 2002
Otiose is from Latin otiosus, “idle, at leisure,” [...]
1. an interval of time between the close of a sovereign’s reign and the accession of his or her normal or legitimate successor.
2. any period during which a state has no ruler or only a temporary executive.
3. any period of freedom from the usual authority.
4. any pause or interruption in continuity.
Origin:
1570–80; < L, equiv. to [...]
noun:
Contemplation of one’s navel as an aid to meditation.
It is well known in the usually jocular phrase directed towards self-absorbed pursuits.
From Greek omphalos (navel) + skepsis (act of looking, examination).
You know you love this word. I think the Kid must do this a lot. She can easily because she’s naked much [...]
adjective:
Cheap and showy, tawdry; also, spurious, counterfeit.
The distortions they bring on damage society and fuel defiant behavior, encouraging everything from immigrations to the Cayman Islands, to active distortions of reality through brummagem corporate filings.
– William F. Buckley, Jr., “Reforming the Rich”, National Review, January 20, 2006
Brummagem is an alteration of Birmingham, England, from the counterfeit [...]
noun:
An imaginary land of ease and luxury.
Everyone was seeking renewal, a golden century, a Cockaigne of the spirit.
– Umberto Eco, Foucault’s Pendulum
Cockaigne comes from Middle English cokaygne, from Middle French (pais de) cocaigne “(land of) plenty,” ultimately adapted or derived from a word meaning “cake.”
Any land of ease and luxury must be imaginary, right? [...]
transitive verb:
1. To hold in contempt.
2. To undervalue.
I hesitate to appear to misprize my native city, but how can the history of dear, sedate old London town possibly compare to Paris for sheer excitement?
– Alistair Horne, Seven Ages of Paris
Misprize comes from Middle French mesprisier, from mes-, “amiss, wrong” + prisier, “to appraise.”
Here’s a check-in [...]
