Whatzat mean? Word origins.

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by homoe

Conniption sometimes used with fit as in A Conniption Fit......




Behavior that shows that you are suddenly very angry, upset, etc.

aka a tantrum....of epic proportions.

[homoe]

untoward..

Difficult to guide, manage, or work with. Marked by trouble or unhappiness.


More than 700 years ago, English speakers began using the word toward for "forward-moving". 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 as a synonym of unruly in the 1500s, and it is still used, just as it was then, though it has since acquired other meanings as well.

[homoe]

tenacious


Tending to keep a firm hold of something; clinging or adhering closely. Not readily relinquishing a position, principle, or course of action; determined.

For all of its nearly 400 years, "tenacious" has adhered closely to its Latin antecedent: tenax, an adjective meaning "tending to hold fast." Almost from the first, "tenacious" could suggest either literal adhesion or figurative stick-to-itiveness. We use "tenacious" of a good memory, too - one that has a better than average capacity to hold information. But you can also have too much of a good thing. The addition in Latin of the prefix per- ("thoroughly") to "tenax" led to the English word pertinacious, meaning "perversely persistent.

[homoe]

excoriate




To censure or criticize severely. To criticize (someone or something) very harshly To wear off the skin.

[homoe]

albeit..........

Although.


In the middle of the 20th century, several usage commentators observed that the "archaic" word albeit was making a comeback. The "archaic" descriptor was not entirely apt. Evidence indicates that "albeit," which was first recorded in English in the 14th century, never really went out of use although, admittedly, its use did seem to drop off a bit in the 19th century. It is true, however, that use of "albeit" has increased considerably since the 1930's.

[homoe]

dagwood..........


A many-layered sandwich.

Sidebar: So named after Dagwood Bumstead, character who made such sandwiches in the comic strip Blondie by M.B.Young.

[homoe]

Triskaidekaphobia: Fear of the 13th Floor..........

While many would quickly dismiss this phobia as pure superstition, those who suffer from extreme cases of triskaidekaphobia find their fear to be very real with physical symptoms such as nausea, difficulty breathing, increased heart rate and a sense of panic.

There is no consensus on where the fear of the number 13 originates, but the fear is generally understood to be a construct of Western societies. Some trace the unlucky origins of 13 to the omission of a 13th law in the Code of Hammurabi. Others point to the biblical story of Judas Iscariot being the 13th person to arrive at the Last Supper. Another explanation links the bad luck of 13 to the evil Norse god Loki.