Word of the Day

: July 15, 2007

distrait

adjective dih-STRAY

What It Means

: apprehensively divided or withdrawn in attention : distracted

distrait in Context

Professor Aguilar noticed that Sheldon was often distrait during her lectures, so she pulled him aside one day after class to ask if anything was wrong.

Did You Know?

"Distrait" is a somewhat literary word with an unusual history. Borrowed from Anglo-French, it was used in the 15th century in a sense very close to that of "distraught," which means "deeply agitated or troubled." (Both words are ultimately from the Latin adjective "distractus.") Later, during the 18th century, "distrait" appears to have been borrowed again from French in a milder sense closer to "preoccupied" or "distracted." Another peculiarity of the word is that it tends to be treated in English as if it were still a French word: it has a feminine variant, "distraite," like a French adjective, and it is pronounced as if French. It can still suggest agitation, but not as strongly as "distraught"; more often it means simply "mentally remote."