[Loch-Ruadh] word for the day: roister

[Jane Sitton]

The Word of the Day for September 25 is: roister * \ROY-ster\ * (verb) : to
engage in noisy revelry : carouse

Example sentence: Chandra didn't get much sleep last night - her neighbors
were roistering until the wee hours of the morning, with a good deal of
laughing and singing.
Did you know? As Hugo Williams asserts in The Times Literary Supplement
(November 15, 1991), roistering tends to be "funnier, sillier and less
harmful than standard hooliganism, being based on nonsense rather than
violence."  Roisterers might be chagrined to learn that the word "roister"
derives from a Middle French word that means "lout" or "boor" ("rustre").
Ultimately, however, it is from the fairly neutral Latin word "rusticus,"
meaning "rural."  In the 16th century, the original English verb was simply
"roist," and one who roisted was a "roister."  Later, we changed the verb to
"roister" and the corresponding noun to "roisterer."
So, how many of you plan on roistering tomorrow and Saturday night???
Not me, of course!  I'll be busy saying my vespers, compline, vigils, and
lauds.
Sister Márta