Word of the Day - 10/01/25
obstreperous
/əb'strɛpərəs/(adj.): boisterously and noisily aggressive
The obstreperous crowd jeered loudly at the speaker, making it impossible for him to continue his speech.
(adj.): noisily and stubbornly defiant
The obstreperous teenager slammed his door shut and refused to come out, ignoring his parents' calls.
Word Origin
The word 'obstreperous' originates from Latin. It is derived from the Latin 'obstreperus', which comes from 'obstrepere', meaning 'to make a noise against' or 'to make a noise in the way'. The word can be broken down into its parts: 'ob-' meaning 'against' or 'in the way of', and 'strepere' meaning 'to make a noise' or 'to be noisy'. The suffix '-ous' is an English adjectival ending derived from Latin '-osus', meaning 'full of' or 'abounding in'.
A word with a similar origin, sharing the Latin root 'strepere', is 'strepitous'. Although quite rare in modern English, 'strepitous' is an adjective meaning 'noisy' or 'boisterous', directly derived from the Latin 'strepitus' (noise), which in turn comes from 'strepere'.