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A.Word.A.Day--facinorous

facinorous (fa-SIN-uhr-uhs) adjective

Extremely wicked.

[From Latin facinorous, from facinus (bad deed), from facere (to do or make).]

"O ambitious Marius! O cruel Catiline! O facinorous Sylla!"
Miguel de Cervantes; Don Quixote (Translation by Thomas Shelton).

"Parolles: Nay, 'tis strange, 'tis very strange, that is the brief and the tedious of it; and he is of a most facinorous spirit ..."
William Shakespeare; All's Well that Ends Well (Act II, Scene III).

A recent email in my mailbox began:

"I love your daily words! I teach a college class and often share your words with students. I have a suggestion for a week of words. One of my pet peeves is that students, like so much of the world, have relegated themselves to using just a few words to express themselves when they are angry. I have been encouraging them to try out some others. Instead of `I'm going to kick your a__' try `I'm going to defenestrate you!' Why not spend a week with some other fun words to replace such terms as `you SOB' `F-you' etc.?" -Kaylene Armstrong

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