This week’s theme
Back-formations

This week’s words
onymous
swashbuckle
zig
rort
couth

This week’s comments
AWADmail 940

Next week’s theme
Shirts and pants as metaphors

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(kooth)

MEANING:

adjective: Cultured; refined; sophisticated.
noun: Refinement; sophistication.

ETYMOLOGY:

Back-formation from uncouth, from Old English uncuth (unknown), from un- (not) + cuth (known), past participle of cunnan (to know, to be able). Ultimately from the Indo-European root gno- (to know), which also gave us know, recognize, acquaint, ignore, diagnosis, notice, normal, anagnorisis, prosopagnosia, agnosia , cognize, gnomon, kenning, and unco. Earliest documented use: 1896. Uncouth is from 1732.

USAGE:

“In public life, brassy, unclassy, light on couth. In private life, elegant home, antiques, Tiffany dinner service.”
Cindy Adams; You Can’t Find a Better Lady; New York Post; Sep 2, 2014.

See more usage examples of couth in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: