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cantankerous (adj.)
"marked by ill-tempered contradiction or opposition," 1772, said by Grose to be "a Wiltshire word," conjectured to be from an alteration (influenced perhaps by raucous) of a dialectal survival of Middle English contakour "troublemaker" (c. 1300), from Anglo-French contec "discord, strife," from Old French contechier (Old North French contekier), from con- "with" + teche, related to atachier "hold fast" (see attach). With -ous. Related: Cantankerously; cantankerousness.
updated on September 27, 2017
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Definitions of cantankerous from WordNet
Dictionary entries near cantankerous
cant
cantabile
Cantabria
Cantabrigian
cantaloupe
cantankerous
cantata
cantatrice
canteen
canter
Canterbury