Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Peeve


I made a stupid mistake, and so I was peeved. "Hey," I said, "where does that word come from?"

It's derived from the adjective peevish, which may come from the Latin past participle perversus. And it means to be irritable and upset.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Berserk

An article by Peter Barglow says this.

"The violence called “Going Berserk” has an ancient history.  “Berserkers” were Norse warriors, “Baresaks,” who battled, often naked, in an uncontrollable, trance-like bestial fury, first mentioned in the late ninth century Scandinavian poem, Haraldskvaedi.  (“Baresark” may refer to a medieval thin shirt made from a bear pelt.)" 

Monday, January 7, 2013

Wrangle

Wrangle is a word with two meanings. The first is to argue or fight in a loud, noisy way.

And the second? To herd cattle or other animals. By extension, someone who steals animals is a wrangler.