Funest (Word of the week)

So, a quick question for everyone to start us off today:- When is fun no fun at all? The answer? When its funest of course!

Funest is an adjective that first appeared in the mid 17th century. It originates from the French funeste and means:

• causing or warning of death or evil. Something that is fatal, disasterous or dreadful.

So, as you can see, no fun at all. This is because the French funeste is derived from the Latin funus meaning funeral, death or corpse.

To finish off, I've got another question for you, along with a bonus word. Knowing what funest means what do you think a funambulist is? Someone who walks with a funeral procession? A walking corpse? No, it actually means tight-rope walker or rope dancer. Bet you didn't see that one coming! That's because it doesn't derive from funus, instead it derives from funis (rope) and ambulare (to walk). See it all makes sense now...

Sources:
Shorter Oxford Dictionary (2 volumes) 6th edition, 2007
Chambers Concise Dictionary, 1989

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