A.Word.A.Day --contumacious

A.Word.A.Day --contumacious

contumacious

PRONUNCIATION:
(kon-tuh-MAY-shuhs, -tyoo-)
MEANING:
adjective: Stubborn, insubordinate.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin contumacia, from contumax, contumac- (insolent).

USAGE:
"Without the disciplining presence of the two heavyweights, contumacious councillors busied themselves with procedural obstruction and shouting 'corruption' at each other."
Tehran's Municipal Politics; The Economist (London, UK); Jan 25, 2003.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Just praise is only a debt, but flattery is a present. -Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784)