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lout: M-W's Word of the Day (forwarded)
From: |
Greg A. Woods |
Subject: |
lout: M-W's Word of the Day (forwarded) |
Date: |
Sun, 20 Feb 2000 15:33:35 -0500 (EST) |
Lout (verb): to bow in respect.
Let's hear it for Olde English!
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Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2000 05:00:00 -0500
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Subject: lout: M-W's Word of the Day
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The Word of the Day for February 19 is:
lout \LOUT (rhymes with "out")\ (noun)
: an awkward brutish person
Example sentence:
Kim reluctantly accepted the invitation to her friend's wedding,
knowing she'd have to spend the entire day masking her opinion that the
groom was a lout.
Did you know?
"Lout" belongs to the large group of words we use to indicate an
undesirable person, a boor, a bumpkin, an oaf, a dolt, a clod. We've used
"lout" in this way since the mid-1500s. As early as the 800s, however,
"lout" functioned as a verb with the meaning "to bow in respect." No one is
quite sure how the verb sense developed into a noun meaning "a brutish
person." Perhaps the awkward posture of one bowing down led over time to the
idea that the person was personally low and awkward as well.
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--
Greg A. Woods
+1 416 218-0098 VE3TCP <address@hidden> <robohack!woods>
Planix, Inc. <address@hidden>; Secrets of the Weird <address@hidden>
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