can·tan·ker·ous (k
n-tng
k
r-s)
adj.
1. Ill-tempered and quarrelsome; disagreeable: disliked her cantankerous landlord.
2. Difficult to handle: “had to use liquid helium, which is supercold, costly and cantankerous” Boston Globe.
[Perhaps from Middle English contek, dissension (influenced by such words as rancorous, and cankerous), from Anglo-Norman contec, possibly from Latin cont
ctus, past participle of contingere, to touch; see contact.]
can·tanker·ous·ly adv.
can·tanker·ous·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
cantankerous
Adjective
quarrelsome or bad-tempered [origin unknown]
Collins Essential English Dictionary 2nd Edition 2006 © HarperCollins Publishers 2004, 2006
