Word of the Day

: April 11, 2011

haphazard

adjective hap-HAZZ-erd

What It Means

: marked by lack of plan, order, or direction

haphazard in Context

Because of the haphazard way the cars were parked in the field, it was difficult for drivers to exit in an orderly fashion after the reception.

"With bookshelves piled to the ceiling, and every inch of space filled with stacks both meticulous and haphazard, Lippincott Books seems so firmly entrenched in its Central Street, Bangor location that one can’t imagine how it will close its doors this spring." -- From an article by Jennifer Vincent in The Maine Campus (University of Maine), February 20, 2011

Did You Know?

The "hap" in "haphazard" comes from an English word that means "happening," as well as "chance or fortune," and that derives from the Old Norse word "happ," meaning "good luck." Perhaps it’s no accident that "hazard," as well, has its own connotations of luck: while it now refers commonly to something that presents danger, at one time it referred to a dice game similar to craps. (The name ultimately derives from the Arabic "al-zahr," or "the die.") "Haphazard" first entered English as a noun (again meaning "chance") in the 16th century, and soon afterward was being used as an adjective to describe things with no apparent logic or order.