Word of the Day

: June 21, 2009

improvident

adjective im-PRAH-vuh-dunt

What It Means

: not provident : not foreseeing and providing for the future

improvident in Context

Judy’s bankruptcy is the result of several years of improvident borrowing with little thought as to how she would ever manage to repay her debts.

Did You Know?

"Improvident" descends from Latin "providēre" plus the negative prefix "im-." "Providēre," which literally means "to see ahead," comes from "pro-," meaning "forward," and "vidēre," meaning "to see." Six of the seven words below are also descendants of "providēre." Can you guess which one is the exception?

provide improvise providence improvement provision prudent purvey

"Provide," "improvise," "providence," "provision," "prudent," and "purvey" all trace back to "providēre." That means "improvement" is the right answer to our quiz. "Improvement" traces back instead to the Latin verb "prodesse," which means "to be beneficial."