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 November 6, 2011
 
Word of the Week--"Cantankerous"
Definition--Cantankerous- adj. 1. hostile, argumentative, irritable.
Discussion--The word "cantankerous" comes from the Middle English word conteckour, meaning troublemaker. A cantankerous person is one who is always upset about something and looking for a fight. One of the most cantankerous fictional characters in the history of Literature is Ebeneezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Most are
familiar with the sour old man's famous expression towards Christmas: "Bah, Humbug!" In contrast to the cantankerous Scrooge was Tiny Tim, a young man in the story that wished well unto everyone. We all have the potential to become cantankerous at times, whether due to a lack of sleep, an illness, or whatever may cause us to slip into a bad mood. We have to be careful, however, not to let this adjective become an everyday element of our personalities. No one likes a Scrooge!
Etymology--Cantankerous- From the Middle English word conteckour, meaning troublemaker, quarrelsome person.
Notice that none of the foreign translations appear to be close to the English spelling or pronuniciation. Foreign Translations Dutch:
chagrijnig
French:
acariâtre
German:
streitsüchtig
Italian:
stizzoso
Spanish:
cascarrabias
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