Word of the Day

Today's Word: Ouch (Noun, Interjection)

Pronunciation: [awch] Listen

Definition: (1) A setting for a precious stone or gem; a clasp or brooch for holding together clothing; a bejeweled buckle. (2) An interjection used when one sticks oneself putting on a brooch or otherwise hurts oneself in a minor way.

Usage: We hear a lot today about ouch pouches, a rhyme couplet referring to first aid kits. Ouch pouches are also used by ballet dancers, too, though. For them the phrase refers to short coverings that protect the jewels of their profession—their toes.

Suggested Usage: Today's noun is a bit outdated but you have to wonder why; it is a word that fits many circumstances and is more precise than "setting:" "After Hermione lost all the diamonds from her brooch, she continued wearing the ouch for years." I suppose we should include an example of the much more common interjection: "Ouch! I just nicked myself on a jagged edge on the ouch of my brooch."

Etymology: First of all, we have no idea where the interjection came from. However, English took the noun from Old French nouche "brooch," which the French had borrowed from Old High German "nuscka" from the same root that gave Latin nodus "knot." "Nodus," of course, crept into English as "node" and in "nodule." It is a kinsword of nexus "tied, connected," found in English "nexus [nek-s-us]," "connect," and "annex." Today's borrowing from French underwent 'reanalysis,' that is, the phrase "a nouch" was reanalyzed as "an ouch," just as "an ewt" became "a newt," "a nadder" became "an adder," and "an other" seems to be becoming "a (whole) nother." Drawing the line between "an" and a noun beginning on a vowel or "a" and a word beginning on an [n] is apparently tricky business in English.

(Our thanks goes to Julie Morlan for the painful and painless versions of today's word.)

–Dr. Language, http://www.yourDictionary.com