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 October 31, 2011
 
Word of the Week--"disheveled"
Definition--Disheveled- adj. 1. untidy, messy, disorganized; the state of being in disarray.
Discussion--The term disheveled is often used to refer to someone's hairstyle when that person is having a "bad hair" day. It can be used at any time to refer to something or someone that is disorganized, messy, and unkempt. If someone refers to you or something in relation to you as being disheveled, it is usually not a compliment.
My hair is quite often disheveled, as is my bedroom! I don't know what it is, but I can never seem to keep things organized. My clothes are taking over the house. I can't remember the last time I saw the floor! An interesting note about the word "disheveled" is that it can also be spelled using two l's: dishevelled. Either spelling is considered correct.
Etymology--Disheveled- borrowed from Old French deschevele, past participle of descheveler- to disarrange the hair (des- apart + chevel hair).
Note that there are virtually no similarities in the foreign translations. Also interesting to note is the distinction that French makes between disheveled hair and clothes- they actually have two separate words. Foreign Translations Dutch:
verward, verslonsd
French:
(hair) ebouriffe, (clothes) debraille (e)
German:
zerzaust
Italian:
arruffato
Spanish:
despeinado, desmelenado
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