Word of the Day: BRUSQUE

Discourteously blunt

brusque (adj) - abrupt and unceremonious in manner or speech; unfriendly, rude, and very brief [bruhsk]

• brusqueness is incivility or rudeness

BREAKDOWN: The word brusque comes to English through French but ultimately from the Italian brusco meaning sour, coarse, or rough. Its origin is likely the Latin bruscus, which referred to the butcher's broom plant, or brūcus, describing heather.

“People who hold important positions in society are commonly labelled ‘somebodies,’ and their inverse ‘nobodies’—both of which are, of course, nonsensical descriptors, for we are all individuals with distinct identities and comparable claims on existence. Those without status are all but invisible: they are treated brusquely by others, their complexities trampled upon and their singularities ignored.” —Alain de Botton

[Our Wednesday Wildcards are fascinating and important words that are not necessarily derived from classical roots.]