A short-tempered history of the 'curmudgeon'

In honor of National Curmudgeon Day, here are words to allow you to grumble, complain, grouse, kvetch, and whine to your heart's (dis)content

The ultimate curmudgeon.
(Image credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)

The word curmudgeon is an old one, originating in the 1570s, but where it comes from is unknown. The most famous suggestion, says World Wide Words, "is that of Dr. Samuel Johnson in his Dictionary of 1755 [in which] he quoted an unknown correspondent as suggesting that it came from the French coeur méchant (evil or malicious heart)." However, this is now considered unlikely.

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Angela Tung's essays on language and culture have appeared at Mental Floss, Quartz, Salon, The Week, The Weeklings, and Wordnik. Her personal essays have appeared at The Frisky, The Huffington Post, and elsewhere.