Saturday, October 6, 2018

Came across the word 'indolent' in a P5 composition and hesitated as I was not sure if that word existed. I knew of 'insolent' but never knew of 'indolent'.

Searched the dictionary and learnt something new today!
[Source - https://www.dictionary.com/browse/indolent]

indolent

[in-dl-uhnt]
adjective
  1. having or showing a disposition to avoid exertion; slothful:an indolent person.
  2. Pathologycausing little or no pain; inactive or relatively benign:an indolent ulcer that is not painful and is slow to heal.
I came across the word "tidbits" in a P5 student's composition about "An Unwelcome Guest" in reference to rodents attracted to leftover food in the home.

It got me thinking, what is the word origin of 'tidbits'? Shouldn't it be 'tit bits' instead, as 'tit' could be from titillating? Of course, there is the consideration or the association with 'tit' as in 'breast' or 'boob' which might have caused the adaptation of another word to replace it.

Interestingly, Google satisfied my curiosity. I found this:
[Source - http://grammarist.com/spelling/tidbit-titbit/]

Either 'Titbit' or 'Tidbit' is acceptable. The latter has an earlier historical significance.