Word of the Day
: January 17, 2019farouche
playWhat It Means
1 : unruly or disorderly : wild
2 : marked by shyness and lack of social graces
farouche in Context
"Though she wrote three 'novels' (more extended free associations than novels as we know them), she is best thought of as a poet of small, farouche poems illustrated with doodles…." — Rosemary Dinnage, The New York Review of Books, 25 June 1987
"Jeremy Irons's natural mode as an actor is fastidious rather than farouche, but he perfectly captures James Tyrone's professional extravagance and personal meanness." — Michael Arditti, The Sunday Express, 11 Feb. 2018
Did You Know?
In French, farouche can mean "wild" or "shy," just as it does in English. It is an alteration of the Old French word forasche, which derives via Late Latin forasticus ("living outside") from Latin foras, meaning "outdoors." In its earliest English uses, in the middle of the 18th century, farouche was used to describe someone who was awkward in social situations, perhaps as one who has lived apart from groups of people. The word can also mean "disorderly," as in "farouche ruffians out to cause trouble."
Test Your Vocabulary with M-W Quizzes
Test Your Vocabulary
What 5-letter word begins with "f" and refers to an animal who has escaped from domestication and has become wild?
VIEW THE ANSWERMore Words of the Day
-
Apr 19
underwhelm
-
Apr 18
qua
-
Apr 17
circumlocution
-
Apr 16
inalienable
-
Apr 15
purloin
-
Apr 14
furlong
