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Feb 8, 2011
This week's themeWords to describe people This week's words dyspeptic caitiff tetchy valetudinarian reticent Caught in spam? Whitelist us to ensure uninterrupted delivery of A.Word.A.Day. Here's how to do it. 
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with Anu Gargcaitiff
PRONUNCIATION:
(KAY-tif)
MEANING:
noun: A cowardly and despicable person.adjective: cowardly, despicable. ETYMOLOGY:
Via French from Latin captivus (captive), from capere (to seize). Ultimately
from the Indo-European root kap- (to grasp), which is also the root of
captive, capsule, capable, capture, cable, chassis, occupy, deceive,
captious, and gaff.
Earliest documented use: Before 1300.]
USAGE:
"I followed him through the streets, listening to his rant, the insults
directed at me for knowing cutpurses and caitiffs, and how dare I lead
him into such dens of ordure."Frank McCourt; From an Affair with Books to a Book Fair; The New York Times; Sep 19, 1997. See more usage examples of caitiff in Vocabulary.com's dictionary. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
There is no greater mistake than the hasty conclusion that opinions are worthless because they are badly argued. -Thomas Huxley, biologist and writer (1825-1895)
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