Word of the Day

: May 13, 2015

askance

adverb uh-SKANSS

What It Means

1 : with a side-glance : obliquely

2 : with disapproval or distrust : scornfully

askance in Context

Rebecca's children looked askance at her when she suggested they turn off their electronic devices and go play outside in the nice weather.

"Well, mandolin players tend to look askance at ukuleles, because we're often asked if that little guitar-looking thing is a ukulele. 'No, it’s a mandolin!'" - Geoff Howes, BG News (Bowling Green State University), April 5, 2015

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.