PeterWilson at 17:00, 23 August 2012

2012-08-23T17:00:09Z

PeterWilson: New page: The adjective '''wayward''', not often used these days, means 'self-willed', 'perverse', 'going in a direction [or doing something] that is against the wishes of others'. It was extend...

2012-08-22T08:41:02Z

New page: The adjective '''wayward''', not often used these days, means 'self-willed', 'perverse', 'going in a direction [or doing something] that is against the wishes of others'. It was extend...

New page

The [[adjective]] '''wayward''', not often used these days, means 'self-willed', 'perverse', 'going in a direction [or doing something] that is against the wishes of others'. It was extended to mean 'capricious', 'erratic', 'going one's own way'. It was readily used about children.

::'''''[[etymology|Etymological]] note''''': '''wayward''' is a contraction of '''awayward[s]''', 'travelling in the other direction', or 'turned in the opposite direction'. (In this, it is akin to '[[froward]]'.) Sir Thomas More used #awayward' in the [[literal]] sense: "Our life walketh awai ward, while our death draweth toward [God and heaven]" (''Treat. Quatuor Nouissimis'' in Works, (c.1522), cited in ''[[OED]]''), but this is one of the last uses of the word, which hardly survived into [[Early Modern English]]. As the [[aphetic]] form '''wayward''' filled its place, it came to be interpreted as 'wanting {or going] <u>one's own</u> way' - a very different idea from the original.

[[Category:clarification of meanings]]
[[Category:etymological curiosities]]
[[Category:etymology]]

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	::'''''[[etymology\|Etymological]] note''''': '''wayward''' is a contraction of '''awayward[s]''', 'travelling in the other direction', or 'turned in the opposite direction'. (In this, it is akin to '[[froward]]'.) Sir Thomas More used #awayward' in the [[literal]] sense: "Our life walketh awai ward, while our death draweth toward [God and heaven]" (''Treat. Quatuor Nouissimis'' in Works, (c.1522), cited in ''[[OED]]''), but this is one of the last uses of the word, which hardly survived into [[Early Modern English]]. As the [[aphetic]] form '''wayward''' filled its place, it came to be interpreted as 'wanting {or going] <u>one's own</u> way' - a very different idea from the original.		::'''''[[etymology\|Etymological]] note''''': '''wayward''' is a contraction of '''awayward[s]''', 'travelling in the other direction', or 'turned in the opposite direction'. (In this, it is akin to '[[froward]]'.) Sir Thomas More used #awayward' in the [[literal]] sense: "Our life walketh awai ward, while our death draweth toward [God and heaven]" (''Treat. Quatuor Nouissimis'' in Works, (c.1522), cited in ''[[OED]]''), but this is one of the last uses of the word, which hardly survived into [[Early Modern English]]. As the [[aphetic]] form '''wayward''' filled its place, it came to be interpreted as 'wanting {or going] <u>one's own</u> way' - a very different idea from the original.
		+
		+	::::'''[[Froward]]''', '''[[untoward]]''' and '''wayward''' are all, in their different ways, [[antonym]]s of '''[[toward]]'''.
		+

Wayward - Revision history

PeterWilson at 17:00, 23 August 2012

PeterWilson: New page: The adjective '''wayward''', not often used these days, means 'self-willed', 'perverse', 'going in a direction [or doing something] that is against the wishes of others'. It was extend...