- Today's Word
Ornery
[OR-nuh-ree]
Definition
- (noun) Someone who is bad-tempered, irritable, or difficult to deal with. An ornery person is often grumpy, stubborn, or combative, making them a challenge to be around.
Example
The old man’s ornery disposition made him a terror to his neighbors, as he would constantly complain about the slightest disturbances and pick fights over trivial matters.
Fun Fact
The word “ornery” is derived from the dialectal alteration of the word “ordinary,” which originally meant “commonplace” or “of poor quality.” Over time, the meaning shifted to describe someone who was ill-tempered or difficult, likely because people of lower social classes were stereotyped as being crude and bad-tempered.
(noun) A natural craving or strong desire; an instinctive inclination toward something
She couldn’t explain her appetence for solo travel — it was simply part of who she was.
Appetence comes from the Latin appetentia, derived from appetere — meaning “to strive after” or “to desire” — itself a combination of ad (“toward”) and petere (“to seek” or “to aim at”). The word entered English in the 17th century, used by philosophers and naturalists to describe instinctive drives in both humans and animals.