Interesting words: Contumely

Word: Contumely
Pronunciation:  Rhymes with Don whom see

Origin:  Per the Online Etymology Dictionary, contumely comes from Latin contumelia "an insult" via old French contumelie.
Meaning: According to Merriam-Webster, contumely is a noun meaning:

harsh language or treatment arising from haughtiness and contempt; also : an instance of such language or treatment

Why use it?  First, although it's a very rare word, it's relatively well-known from Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act III, scene 1:

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,

Th' oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,

which is part of perhaps the most famous passage in all of Shakespeare - the "to be or not to be" soliloquy.

Second, it's more precise than "insult" or "scorn".  It refers to a particular type of foul treatment.


Frequency: About 1 in every 15,200,000 words