This week’s theme
Verbs

This week’s words
confute
propine
flocculate
absolve
objurgate

This week’s comments
AWADmail 746

Next week’s theme
Words that appear to be coined after someone (but aren’t)

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(OB-juhr-gayt)

MEANING:

verb tr.: To scold severely.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin objurgare (to scold), from ob- (against) + jurgare/jurigare (to quarrel, to scold). Ultimately from the Indo-European root yewes- (law), which is also the source of jury, judge, just, injury, perjury, conjure, adjure and de jure. Earliest documented use: 1616.

USAGE:

“Occasionally he objurgated Mr. Ledbetter’s clumsiness, and urged him to hurry.”
H.G. Wells; Mr. Ledbetter’s Vacation; The Strand Magazine (London, UK); Jul-Dec 1898.

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

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: