Word of the Day

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

rejoinder

\rih-JOIN-dur\ , noun;

An answer to a reply; or, in general, an answer or reply.

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Quotes:

I kept looking for exceptions to his pronouncements, flaws in his reasoning, my constant rejoinders to his critical remarks being "Yes, but . . ."

-- Richard Elman, Namedropping: Mostly Literary Memoirs

The comment immediately drew a sharp rejoinder from a friend.

-- Howard W. French, "Tokyo Displays Mixed Feelings at Premiere of 'Pearl Harbor'", New York Times, June 21, 2001

Chance on an unbelieving clod, and the ultimate rejoinder is ready at hand: "Listen, dummy, it actually happened!"

-- Benjamin Cheever, "Like Watching Tennis", New York Times, August 17, 1997

Origin:

Rejoinder derives from Old French rejoindre, "to answer, rejoin," from re- + joindre, "to join," from Latin iungere, "to join."