It's the Word of the Day podcast for April 15th.

Today's word is pugnacious, spelled Pug-U-G-N-A-C-I-O-U-S.

Pugnacious is an adjective.

Someone described as Pugnacious shows a readiness or desire to fight or argue.

Here's the word used in a sentence from the Delaware Gazette.

While looking through the Perkins telescope at Saturn one night, a Pugnacious 10-year-old commented,

Hey, I only see one ring, rip off. Pugnacious individuals are often looking

for a fight. While unpleasant, at least their fists are packing an etymological punch.

Pognacious comes from the Latin verb Pugnare, meaning to fight, which in turn comes from the

Latin word for fist, pugnus.

Another Latin word related to pugnus is pugil, meaning boxer.

Pugil is the source of our word pugilist, which means fighter and is used especially

of professional boxers.

Pugneray has also given us impugn to assail by words or arguments, opune, meaning to fight against, and repugnant,

which is now used primarily in the sense of exciting distaste or aversion, but which has also meant

characterized by contradictory opposition and hostile. With your word of the day, I'm Peter

Sokolowski.

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