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cur·mudg·eon

(kər-mŭjən)

An ill-tempered person, especially one who is habitually stubborn or grouchy.

[Possibly Scots cur-, intensive prefix (perhaps partly from Scottish Gaelic car, rather, somewhat (from car, a twist, a turn) and partly from Scottish Gaelic corr-, intensive prefix (from corr, protruding point, from Old Irish corr, snout)) + Scottish Gaelic mùigean, churl, gloomy fellow (from diminutive of mùig, gloom, gloomy appearance, snivelling nose, snot, from Old Irish muich, múich, gloom; akin to Old Irish múchaid, he smothers with smoke, and Welsh mwg, smoke).]

cur·mudgeon·ly adj.

cur·mudgeon·ry n.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

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Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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