[Loch-Ruadh] word of the day

[Jane Sitton]

Your daily vocabulary lesson: flagitious * \fluh-JIH-shuss\ * (adjective) :
marked by scandalous crime or vice : villainous
Example sentence:  The actor will play a flagitious scoundrel in his next
film - a departure from the "good guy" roles he usually takes on.
Did you know?  "Flagitious" derives from the Latin noun "flagitum," meaning
"shameful thing," and can be ultimately traced back to the Latin word
"flagrum," meaning "whip."  "Flagrum" is also the source of "flagellate"
("to whip, scourge") and the very rare "flagitate," meaning "importune."
But it is NOT the source of "flagrant," which means "conspicuously bad,"
despite the superficial resemblance.  "Flagrant" and its cousins derive
instead from the Latin "flagrare," meaning "to burn."  "Flagitious" first
appeared in print in the late 14th century, and it was originally applied to
people who were horribly criminal or wicked.  These days, it can also
describe intangibles, such as actions ("flagitious promiscuity"), ideas ("a
flagitious notion"), and principles ("flagitious motives").

This is a good one.  I had never heard it before.  --Madelina