Robustious

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Characterized by vigorous, boisterous, or excessively loud behavior that is often crude or unrefined in nature
2. Marked by rough, forceful, and loud conduct that displays a lack of refinement or restraint
3. Exhibiting boisterous strength and coarse vehemence that lacks subtlety or delicacy

Etymology: "Robustious" is a blend of two English building blocks: "robust" and the suffix "-ious," which turns a noun or adjective into a sense of "full of" or "characterised by." Robust itself came into English from Latin "robustus," meaning "oak-like" or "hard," from "robur," oak wood, which is why its core idea is sturdiness. The suffix "-ious" was borrowed through French from Latin "-iosus," so robustious amounts to "full of robustness." The word's sense has moved far from strength of body. Robustious appears in English as a term of disapproval, applied to behaviour that is loud and boisterous rather than sturdy. It is the sort of coinage that could have been formed in the same way as its cousins, but the meaning narrowed toward crude, overbearing display, a shift that turned a compliment about physical health into a complaint about manners.

Synonyms: boisterous, lively

Antonyms: quiet, calm