Word of the Day

Monday, May 08, 2000

deign

\DAYN\ , intransitive verb;

To think worthy; to condescend -- followed by an infinitive.

To condescend to give or bestow; to stoop to furnish; to grant.

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Quotes:

Not until I pour vodka on his shirt does he deign to acknowledge my existence.

-- Jay McInerney, Model Behavior

Maybe the President does not deign to read op-ed pages, but his speechwriters surely do.

-- William Safire, "The Wrong Way.", New York Times, June 14, 1999

Like most healthy, normal people (if you deign to categorize yourself that way), you are probably fraught with worry so intense these days you are sleeping standing up with your eyes open.

-- Lisa Napoli, "Every Little Thing's Gonna Be All Right!", New York Times, December 14, 1996

Origin:

Deign comes from Old French deignier, "to regard as worthy," from Latin dignari, from dignus, "worthy." It is related to dignity, "the quality or state of being worthy."