Word of the Day

: February 20, 2008

contumely

noun kahn-TOO-muh-lee

What It Means

: harsh language or treatment arising from haughtiness and contempt; also : an instance of such language or treatment

contumely in Context

Early in his career, the pioneering scientist's colleagues heaped contumely on him for his unconventional ideas, which were eventually proven to be correct.

Did You Know?

Geoffrey Chaucer was writing about the sin of "contumelie," as it was spelled in Middle English, back in the late 1300s. We borrowed the word from Middle French (whence it had earlier arrived from Latin "contumelia"), and it has since seen wide literary use. Perhaps its most famous occurrence is in Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy:

"For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely...."

That's not to say the word has no place today. This past September, for example, political columnist Mona Charen expressed the opinion that President Bush has not only been criticized by those on the left of the political spectrum, but "has also suffered the contumely of some on the right and of seemingly everyone in the center."