Word of the Day

Thursday, January 08, 2009

daunt

\dawnt, dahnt\ , verb;

to frighten; overcome with fear

to discourage; lessen the courage of

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Quotes:

"The huge size of a vessel does not seem to daunt the pirates," he said. "It shows their high degree of audacity and resources."

-- Xan Rice, The Guardian, 2008-11-18

It's a job that can daunt grieving relatives or anyone who hasn't had experience digging through federal files.

-- Jack Forgy, Miami Herald, 2008-10-22

Origin:

c1300, from Old French danter, variant of donter, from Latin domare "to tame." Originally meant "to vanquish;" sense of "to intimidate" is from c 1475.