Today's Word

Rapscallion

[rap-SKAL-yun]

Definition

(noun) A mischievous or unruly person, typically referring to someone who is playfully naughty or engages in minor wrongdoing. It’s often used affectionately to describe a rascal or a person with a roguish charm.

Example

Despite his tendency to cause trouble, the little rapscallion’s infectious grin and clever wit made him a favorite among the neighbors.

Fun Fact

The word “rapscallion” is believed to have originated in the late 16th century as an alteration of the earlier term “rascallion,” which itself was a fanciful elaboration of “rascal.” Over time, it has maintained its connotation of mischievous behavior but has generally lost the more serious implications of villainy that it sometimes carried in earlier usage.

Previous Words

Dilatory

Today's Word

Dilatory

DIL-uh-tor-ee

Definition

(adjective) Tending to cause delay; slow or late in doing things, especially as a deliberate or habitual strategy.

Example

The contractor’s dilatory approach to the renovation had stretched a six-week project into its fifth month, with no end visible from any angle.

Word Origin

Dilatory derives from the Latin dilatorius, meaning “causing delay,” from dilator — “one who delays” — rooted in differre, meaning “to postpone” or “to put off,” built from dis- (“apart”) and ferre (“to carry”). The same root gives us defer and difference — both carrying the sense of something carried away from its original position or time. It entered English in the 15th century, used in legal contexts to describe procedural tactics deliberately designed to delay proceedings before acquiring its broader sense of habitual slowness.

Fun Fact

The filibuster — one of the most famous dilatory tactics in modern democracy — has its origins in the Latin American word filibustero, itself derived from the Dutch vrijbuiter meaning “pirate” or “freebooter.” The connection is apt: a filibuster is essentially an act of legislative piracy, hijacking the proceedings of an entire chamber through the deliberate exhaustion of time. The longest individual filibuster in US Senate history belongs to Strom Thurmond, who spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes in 1957 against the Civil Rights Act — reading state election laws, the Declaration of Independence, and his mother’s biscuit recipe along the way, making it history’s most dilatory biscuit recipe delivery.

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Rapscallion

Definition

Example

Previous Words

Dilatory

Dilatory

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Dilatory

Resplendent

Expiate

Gourmand

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