In an interview of the people on "Friends," Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) was quoted as saying he was "trepidatious" about the future...or is it "trepidacious"...as it's cited in Tsuwm's dictionary? Or is it a word at all? I hadn't heard of it. Isn't "trepid" a perfectly good adjective for the same meaning?

I've only ever seen it as trepidacious. I was mildly surprised that only one online dictionary (according to OneLook) contains the word, WWFTD.

the word in question is to be found in neither form in either OED or W3. the only confirmation (as such) that I found was in The Vocabula Review's Worst Words list (link following).

trepidatious beats trepidacious in a googlewar®, 2160 to 484.

Worst Words

(btw, it is my considered opinion that this *list* has an aura of foolishness and odium.)

There are three distinct Latin endings that have been conflated into one English sound. All three have an adjective ending -os- (English -ous) added to another ending.

-atious words come from first declension verbs, with thematic vowel -a-, so trepido 'I am alarmed' forms perfect participle trepid-a-tum and abstract noun trepid-a-tio(n-).

-acious words come from adjectives in -ax, stem -aci-. For some reason the basic forms of the adjectives didn't make it into English, and instead we get -os- extended forms of the Latin adjectives: capax 'capacious', vorax 'voracious', audax 'audacious', etc. These are from various declension verbs.

-aceous words are from adjectives formed from plant or animal names, used as taxonyms: neuter plural -acea agreeing with animalia, and feminine plural -aceae agreeing with plantae. Also in other scientific use, such as cretaceous from 'chalk'.

Interestingly enough, there is a rare verb trepidate to derive this adjective from. There is also a Latin adjective trepidus from which gave us a perfectly good English adjective trepid, the antonym of intrepid. You can also google trpidous, if you like. (Unlike some rare words hereabouts, I think it is obvious what Perry was trying to say.)

jheem: Interestingly enough, there is a rare verb trepidate

Is there? I didn't find it in one-look. Ciardi uses it to mean "hazard a guess," but he says that it's a non-word coinage.

PS: I'm sure he used it in his Good Words to You, and if leisure ever permits, I'll browse for it there.

I like Tsuwm's list of "worst words," though I wondered whether there was any particular order to it, seeing that it wasn't alphabetized. I see that they, like others on this board (though not me!), dislike "peruse"...and for the same reason. I find their dislike of "healthy" rather odd, though. Now, that has been around for awhile! Yet, many of the others I agree with.

Yes, I , too, agreed with most of the words on that list. I do take issue, however, with

quote:

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burgle — burglarize; steal from

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I'd say that burgle was OK, and that burglarize is the one that should be on the list of Worst Words.

When the enterprising burglar's not a-burgling (Not a-burgling)
When the cut-throat isn't occupied in crime, ('Pied in crime,)
He loves to hear the little brook a-gurgling (Brook a-gurgling)
And listen to the merry village chime. (Village chime)

(Gilbert and Sullivan. I beat you to it, hab!)

shufitz: Is there? I didn't find it in one-look. Ciardi uses it to mean "hazard a guess," but he says that it's a non-word coinage.

The OED, 1st ed., defines it as to tremble with fear. And gives about 10 citations from the 17th to the mid-19th century. Seems like a rare word, but not a non-word.

This may be a bit off-topic, but I have someone at my school called a 'learning facilitator'.

Not necessarily off topic, just off thread.