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Old 12-01-2003, 01:42 AM   #1 (permalink)
JadziaDax
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Word of the day December 1

The Word of the Day for December 1 is:

untoward • \un-TOH-erd \ • (adjective) 1. difficult to guide, manage, or work with; unruly, intractable; 2a. marked by trouble or unhappiness; unlucky; 2b. not favorable; adverse, unpropitious; 3. improper, indecorous

A little more information about today’s word:
More than 700 years ago, English speakers began using the word "toward" of "forward-moving" youngsters, the kind who showed promise and were disposed to listening to their elders. After about 150 years, the use was broadened somewhat to mean simply "docile" or "obliging." The opposite of this "toward" is "froward," meaning "perverse" or "ungovernable." Today, "froward" has fallen out of common use, and the cooperative sense of "toward" is downright obsolete, but the "newcomer" to this series -- "untoward" -- has kept its toehold. "Untoward" first showed up in the 1400s, and it is still used, just as it was then, as a synonym of "unruly," "undisciplined," "unmanageable," and "fractious."

My sentence (using definition #1):
After a few obedience classes, Bowser's untoward behavior faded quite a bit, but he was still having trouble with "sit" and "stay."

Based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 10th Edition.

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