Ascanse

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To glance sideways at someone or something with doubt, disapproval, or suspicion
2. To regard a person or thing with a sidelong look that shows distrust or disfavor
3. To view something obliquely, as if with mistrust, rather than directly and openly

Etymology: The origin of this word, a variant of "askance," is uncertain. Dictionaries have not settled on a source, so any account of its ancestry has to rest on proposals rather than proof. The proposal most often cited links it to Italian "scansare," meaning to dodge or get out of the way. That would suit a glance that swerves aside, but the connection is not firmly established. Other suggestions exist, and none has won general agreement. The sideways sense is clear enough from the word's use, even if its path into English is not. Its figurative meanings of suspicion and disapproval came later than the plain idea of an oblique look, which is why it still carries a sense of physical movement.