ORNERY

PRONUNCIATION: (OR-nuh-ree)

MEANING: adjective: Having an unpleasant disposition: irritable, stubborn, combative, etc.

ETYMOLOGY: An alteration of the word ordinary, from Latin ordo (order, rank). In the beginning the word ornery was just a dialect pronunciation of the word ordinary and meant the same. Over time it acquired negative senses, from commonplace to lazy to mean to cantankerous. Earliest documented use: 1692.
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ORTERY - moralistic; someone who judges actions by whether or not they orter

ORNERRY - slopppily commonplace

ORBERY - see ORRERY