Truculent

January 8th, 2010

Truculent
\’tre-kye-lent\ adj *1: feeling or displaying ferocity 2: deadly or destructive 3: scathingly harsh 4: aggressively self-assertive *

One of the great elements of the word, “truculent” is that it is host to so many different nuances of meaning. The origin of the word, according to Page-A-Day Calendar from Workman Publishing, comes from the word “truculentus which is a form of the Latin adjective trux meaning ‘savage.’” This word and the sound it makes when it rolls off my tongue enables me to envision all the negative aspects of an individual, a personality, or circumstance. However, perhaps it is one of my favorite words because of the wide spectrum on which its numerous meanings are scattered.
Ok, yes, it could be argued that the original meaning is the only real meaning, but let’s be honest, why would we want to let a word that embodies such evil leave our mouths and make its indelible mark on people and society at large? Even though all the meanings of truculent are negative, some are less severe and therefore are easier with which to deal. The description of the word gives the harshest definition first, then slowly eases its way into the least offending explanation, “aggressively self-asserting.” People may argue that it should be against the (fictitious) word laws that a word be used to so accurately describe two different people or situations or policies; truculent being able to to describe a hateful man such as Saadam Hussein or a person who may be a bit pushy and obnoxious. Dare I say that the difference is clear here? How can one word be used to delineate two people on such opposite sides of the language gamut? Ahh, such is the beauty of the English language, a method of communication that can be such a precise representation of its people, hosting words that is in itself one but that which hordes multitudes of shades of gray.

* letter “e” is upside down giving sound of “uh”