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Dec 9, 2020 · c. 1600, "an attack;" 1670s as "an act of insulting, contemptuous treatment," from French insult (14c.) or directly from Late Latin insultus "insult, scoffing," noun use of past participle of insilire, literally "to leap at or upon" (see insult (v.)). The older noun was insultation (1510s). To add insult to injury translates Latin injuriae ...
- Français (French)
Environ 1600, «une attaque»; dans les années 1670 en tant...
- Italiano (Italian)
c. 1600, "un attacco"; 1670s come "un atto di insulto,...
- Insult 뜻
insult 뜻: 모욕; 1560년대, "오만하게 이기다" (오래된 뜻)는 프랑스어 insulter 에서...
- Insularity
word-forming element making abstract nouns from adjectives...
- Français (French)
- Tosser – Supreme Asshole or jerk.
- Wanker – Idiot.
- Slag – Whore, the worst kind.
- Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys – The French.
- Wazzock
- Lummox
- Skiver
- Minger
- Nincompoop
- Pillock
- Clod Hopper
- Dunaker
- Git
Wazzock was a particularly prevalent—and particularly loutish—insult in the 1990s. At the time, "lad culture" ran throughout British music and television, and wazzock, a North-England accented contraction of the sarcastic wiseacre (a know-it-all) became a powerful tool to shoot people down in an argument.
Though the etymology of lummox is heavily disputed, one thing is for certain: It came from East Anglia, the coastal outcrop of Britain above London. There, around 1825, someone threw out the word as an insult, and it stuck, becoming a typically British go-to term. Some linguists believe it comes from the word lummock, which typified a lummox: it me...
Skivers and shirkers are one and the same. Someone who manages to duck under any responsibility and loaf around, doing very little, is a skiver. The origins of this particular insult are contested: some think it’s from an Old Norse word—skifa—meaning “slice,” whereby the worker slices off as much work as possible.
Often hurled at the opposite sex, to call someone a minger is to say they are objectively unattractive. Though etymologists struggle to agree where the word came from, it seems likely that it stems from the Old Scots word meng, meaning “sh**.” We didn’t say it was pretty.
For such a colloquial word, nincompoop actually has a very learned past. Samuel Johnson, the compiler of England’s first proper dictionary, claims the word comes from the Latin phrase non compos mentis (“not of right mind”), and was originally a legal term.
As words are used more regularly, the laziness of pronunciation can often warp them slightly. So it was with pillock. Originally pillicock(a Norwegian slang word for penis), the word has since been condensed to plain old pillock—though its meaning remains.
According to the brilliant Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue,dating back to 1811 and compiled by Captain Francis Grose, a clod hopper refers to a country farmer or ploughman—with the implication nowadays that you’re slow witted and bumbling.
Grose’s Dictionary of vulgarities is a rich seam of overlooked insults. In the 200 years since it was published, there have been several terms that have fallen out of favor. One of them is dunaker, a common thief of cows and calves.
By calling someone a git, you’re invoking the old Scots word get, which means "bastard." When it came down south of the border, it lost its harsh vowel sound and became something softer, albeit with the required spikiness in.
OED's earliest evidence for insult is from 1603, in a translation by Philemon Holland, translator. It is also recorded as a verb from the late 1500s. insult is of multiple origins. Either (i) a borrowing from French. Or (ii) a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French insult; Latin insultus. See etymology.
INSULT definition: 1. an offensive remark or action: 2. something that causes an injury or damage to the body: 3. to…. Learn more.
Sep 28, 2024 · insult (countable and uncountable, plural insults) (uncountable) Action or form of speech deliberately intended to be rude; (countable) a particular act or statement having this effect. Synonyms: affront, (slang) diss, (obsolete) insultation, (Britain) offence, (US) offense, pejorative, (US, colloquial) slam, slight, slur; see also Thesaurus ...
insult in American English. (ɪnˈsʌlt ; for n. ˈɪnˌsʌlt ) verb transitive. 1. to treat or speak to with scorn, insolence, or great disrespect; subject to treatment, a remark, etc. that hurts or is meant to hurt the feelings or pride. 2. Obsolete. to attack; assail.
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