Word of the Day
aroint
verb (imperative)
Obsolete.
begone: Aroint thee, varlet!
More about aroint
The obsolete imperative verb or exclamation aroint! or aroint thee! means “begone!” Aroint has no convincing or even plausible etymology. The phrase Aroint thee, witch! first appears in Shakespeare’s King Lear and Macbeth. Aroint thee, witch! next appears in the works of the Scottish author and antiquarian Sir Walter Scott in 1816.
how is aroint used?
Aroynt thee, Witch, the rumpe-fed Ronyon cryes.
“Well, my power has not reached its height, but I am still strong enough to deal with you. Aroint ye!” She pointed the ivory cain at Mrs. Zimmerman. Nothing happened.
juberous
adjective
uncertain and reluctant; dubious; undecided: I was feeling mighty juberous about crossing that bridge.
More about juberous
The adjective juberous “uncertain, hesitant, reluctant” is supposedly a regionalism of the American Midwest—Indiana, in particular. Juberous is most likely a humorous alteration of dubious. It first occurs in The Hoosier School-Master (1871) by the American author and Methodist clergyman Edward Eggleston.
how is juberous used?
Tell you the truth, I been juberous about that loan proposition ever since Thad put his name to it.
I’m kind of juberous about letting you go at it; but maybe, if your sister looked after you, you could do a good job.
More about inanition
Inanition, “exhaustion from lack of food, starvation; lethargy,” comes from Middle English inanicioun, inanisioun, which has a somewhat different meaning, “pathological emptiness of blood, humors, and fluids.” Inanicioun in turn comes from Late Latin inānitiō (stem inānitiōn-) “emptiness,” ultimately a derivative of the adjective inānis “empty, void, hungry.” In medical usage, Late Latin inānitiō and Middle English inanicioun are frequently combined (or contrasted) with replētiō (Latin) and Middle English replecioun, repleccioun, replesioun, “overindulgence in food or drink, satiety; fullness or a pathological fullness of blood and humors.” Inanition entered English at the end of the 14th century.
how is inanition used?
Sparky is never going to amount to anything. He hasn’t been practicing, and now, rather than face the consequences of his inanition, he is going to cheat.
There are a pair of weeping willows in the churchyard, very often rapturously astream in the wind, but which, on a hot, calm day, hang there for a moment in a gust of sudden awful inanition, like the stillness between two beats of one’s heart.