Word of the Day
: February 3, 2007askance
playWhat It Means
1 : with a side-glance : obliquely
2 : with disapproval or distrust : scornfully
askance in Context
"How demurely the little urchins look at him askance as he surveys them when they are all seated, with a glare of the eye peculiar to beadles!" (Charles Dickens, Sketches by Boz)
Did You Know?
Etymologists have been scratching their heads over the origin of "askance" for centuries. Sources from Italian and Old Norse, among other languages, have been suggested, but, today, dictionary editors look askance at all of these explanations and simply label the word "origin unknown." What we do know is that the word was first used in English in the mid-16th century with the meaning "sideways" or "with a sideways glance," and that writers over the years have used the suggestion of someone looking askance at something to express a number of feelings from disapproval and distrust to jealousy.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
