Skip to content

The word for today is…

chary (adjective):

1: discreetly cautious: such as

a: hesitant and vigilant about dangers and risks

b: slow to grant, accept, or expend

2 archaic : dear, treasured

Source : Merriam -Webster

Etymology : Chary’s Middle English predecessor, charri, meant “sorrowful,” a sense that harks back to the Old English word cearig, meaning “troubled, troublesome, taking care,” which ultimately comes from an assumed-but-unattested Germanic word, karō, meaning “sorrow” or “worry,” that is also an ancestor of the word care. It’s perhaps unsurprising then, that chary was once used to mean “dear” or “cherished.” Both sorrow and affection have largely faded from chary, and today the word is most often used as a synonym of careful.

If you enjoyed this Good Oil word of the day please consider sharing it with your friends and, especially, your children.

Latest

Face of the Day

Face of the Day

Big Hairy Network co-host Mike “Chewie” Bennett said he was ejected from Mr Henry’s event at Dunedin’s Glenroy Auditorium on Thursday night.

Members Public
The Good Oil Word of the Day

The Good Oil Word of the Day

The word for today is… popinjay (noun) - : a strutting supercilious person Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Popinjays and parrots are birds of a feather. Popinjay, from the Middle French word papegai, is the original name for a parrot in English. The French word, in turn, came from the Arabic word for

Members Public