Word of the Day

: August 16, 2007

rankle

verb RANK-ul

What It Means

: to cause irritation or bitterness in

rankle in Context

Rae Ann's snooty attitude and rude behavior rankled me, but I smiled to hide my irritation.

Did You Know?

The history of today's word is something of a sore subject. When "rankle" was first used in English, it meant "to fester," and that meaning is linked to the word's Old French ancestor, a noun that was spelled "raoncle" or "draoncle" and meant "festering sore." Etymologists think the Old French noun derived from "dracunculus," a diminutive form of "draco," which is the Latin word for "serpent" and the source of the English word "dragon." The transition from serpents to sores apparently occurred because people thought certain ulcers or tumors looked like small serpents.