The Good Oil Word of the Day

The word for today is…

dudgeon (noun, noun) -

noun 1 obsolete : a wood used especially for dagger hilts 2a archaic : a dagger with a handle of dudgeon b obsolete : a haft made of dudgeon

noun : a fit or state of indignation — often used in the phrase in high dudgeon

Source : Merriam-Webster

Etymology : Dudgeon is today most often used in the phrase “in high dudgeon” to describe someone in a fit of pique, or more colloquially, in a snit: they are angry and offended because of something they perceive as unfair or wrong. The word has been a part of the English language since at least the late 1500s, but its origins are a mystery. Conjectures connecting dudgeon to a Welsh word, dygen, meaning “malice,” have no basis. Also, there does not appear to be any connection to an even older dudgeon—a term once used for a dagger or a kind of wood out of which dagger handles were made.

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