insult
pronunciation
How to pronounce insult in British English:
UK [ˈɪnsʌlt , ɪnˈsʌlt]
How to pronounce insult in American English:
US [ˈɪnsʌlt , ɪnˈsʌlt]
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- Noun:
- a rude expression intended to offend or hurt
- a deliberately offensive act or something producing the effect of an affront
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- Verb:
- treat, mention, or speak to rudely
Word Origin
- insult
- insult: [16] The -sult of insult comes from a word that meant ‘jump’. Its source was Latin insultāre ‘jump on’, a compound verb based on saltāre ‘jump’. This was a derivative of salīre ‘jump’, source in one way or another of English assail, assault, desultory, salacious, and salient. Old French took insultāre over as insulter and used it for ‘triumph over in an arrogant way’. This was how the word was originally used in English, but at the beginning of the 17th century the now familiar sense ‘abuse’ (which had actually developed first in the Latin verb) was introduced.=> assail, assault, desultory, salacious, salient
- insult (v.)
- 1560s, "triumph over in an arrogant way," from Middle French insulter (14c.) and directly from Latin insultare "to assail, to leap upon" (already used by Cicero in sense of "insult, scoff at, revile"), frequentative of insilire "leap at or upon," from in- "on, at" (see in- (2)) + salire "to leap" (see salient (adj.)). Sense of "to verbally abuse, affront, assail with disrespect" is from 1610s. Related: Insulted; insulting.
- insult (n.)
- c. 1600 in the sense of "attack;" 1670s as "an act of insulting," from Middle French insult (14c.) or directly from Late Latin insultus, from insilire (see insult (v.)). To add insult to injury translates Latin injuriae contumeliam addere.
Example
- 1. But civility has been sacrificed to the gratuitous insult .
- 2. Unsurprisingly scottish voters have woken up to the insult .
- 3. Most people would not intentionally insult their infertile friends .
- 4. Do not feed people who insult you with comebacks or satisfy them with your discontent .
- 5. Nevertheless , libya was quick to retaliate against this insult .