- Pronunciation: \ˈȯ-kwərd\
- Function: adjective
- Etymology:
- Middle English awkeward in the wrong direction, from awke turned the wrong way, from Old Norse ǫfugr; akin to Old High German abuh turned the wrong way
- Date: 1530
1obsolete : perverse
2archaic : unfavorable , adverse
3 a: lacking dexterity or skill (as in the use of hands) --awkward with a needle and thread-- b: showing the result of a lack of expertness -- awkward pictures --
4 a: lacking ease or grace (as of movement or expression) --awkward writing--b: lacking the right proportions, size, or harmony of parts : ungainly--awkward design--
5 a: lacking social grace and assuranceawkward newcomer> b: causing embarrassment awkward moment>
6: not easy to handle or deal with : requiring great skill, ingenuity, or careawkward load-- awkward diplomatic situation--
Ok, I picked this word for a couple of reasons. One: I was spelling this the other day and it dawned on me how weird the spelling of this word is. I went to the dictionary (online, my hard copy is getting dusty. :-( Really? A-w-k-w-a-r-d. Hmmm. I was right, much to my chagrin. Not that I wanted to be wrong, it just 'felt' wrong. Two "w's" in one word? It would be ideal for Hangman . Although if someone guessed "w" then it's all downhill from there. Two: Try explaining "why" to a six year old. The word came up in a conversation, and Mairyn asked,
"What does awkward mean?"
And so I told her. And then she asked how it is spelled.
"That *pause* is wrong, Mommy. It can't be like that."
We wrote it down, looked it up and heard it pronounced online (that is something our paper version can't do. Yet. ;-) She finally conceded that this was, in fact, really a word. Thank you, Mairyn. I think. This word is, in more ways than one, awkward. Ha!
**P.S. I'd like to know on what accent they base the pronunciation of a word. I mean, not everyone in the U.S. says, "Cuba" the same. (sorry, just saw 'JFK', I still giggle a bit when I hear "cuber". ha!) I guess someone knows. Potato, Potato, Tomato, Tomato.
2archaic : unfavorable , adverse
3 a: lacking dexterity or skill (as in the use of hands) --awkward with a needle and thread-- b: showing the result of a lack of expertness -- awkward pictures --
4 a: lacking ease or grace (as of movement or expression) --awkward writing--b: lacking the right proportions, size, or harmony of parts : ungainly
5 a: lacking social grace and assurance
6: not easy to handle or deal with : requiring great skill, ingenuity, or care
Ok, I picked this word for a couple of reasons. One: I was spelling this the other day and it dawned on me how weird the spelling of this word is. I went to the dictionary (online, my hard copy is getting dusty. :-( Really? A-w-k-w-a-r-d. Hmmm. I was right, much to my chagrin. Not that I wanted to be wrong, it just 'felt' wrong. Two "w's" in one word? It would be ideal for Hangman . Although if someone guessed "w" then it's all downhill from there. Two: Try explaining "why" to a six year old. The word came up in a conversation, and Mairyn asked,
"What does awkward mean?"
And so I told her. And then she asked how it is spelled.
"That *pause* is wrong, Mommy. It can't be like that."
We wrote it down, looked it up and heard it pronounced online (that is something our paper version can't do. Yet. ;-) She finally conceded that this was, in fact, really a word. Thank you, Mairyn. I think. This word is, in more ways than one, awkward. Ha!
**P.S. I'd like to know on what accent they base the pronunciation of a word. I mean, not everyone in the U.S. says, "Cuba" the same. (sorry, just saw 'JFK', I still giggle a bit when I hear "cuber". ha!) I guess someone knows. Potato, Potato, Tomato, Tomato.
4 comments:
lol! Mairyn is so funny! Awkward is such a funny word!
Lydia - Cairo? That is so completely awesome! And I can't believe that we planned the same thing for the same day. Love it. Thanks for passing the word along to your Utah friends. I wish I was cool enough to have a bunch of Cairo friends to send your way, but alas, I am not... Good luck with everything! We'll have to let each other know how the big day goes!
Take care.
Laura
Awkward is an awkward word. I can never remember how to spell it. I think it was spelled wrong in a dictionary way back when, and rather than correcting it, the printers just convinced everyone that the dictionary had to be right, so it stuck. 'Separate' happened the same way. It should be 'seperate', imo, but some things you just can't win.
That word was in the running, too. Separate. I always misspell that word!
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