Word of the Day: EERIE

Uncanny, spooky, or supernatural

eerie (adj) - strange, frightening, or mysterious [ir-e]

BREAKDOWN: In a strange or mysterious twist, the word eerie has evolved from its Old English (by way of German) origin as earg meaning cowardly. The word still has connotations in Scotland of being fearful or timid, but, everywhere else, eerie points to the cause of fear rather than the feeling of it.

“It turns out that an eerie type of chaos can lurk just behind a facade of order - and yet, deep inside the chaos lurks an even eerier type of order.” —Douglas Hofstadter

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