Execrable

Lynne Kiesling

Today’s word from A Word A Day is one of my favorites:

execrable (EK-si-kruh-buhl) adjective

Detestable; wretched.

[From Middle English, from Latin execrabilis (accursed), from execrari (to curse), from ex- + sacrare (to consecrate). Ultimately from Indo-European root sak- (to sanctify) that is also the source of other words such as saint, consecrate, and sacred.]

“They (The Patriots) were execrable, failing to record a first down in the first half.” Bob Ryan; They Stand Atop the Division, But Footing Seems Quite Shaky; Boston Globe; Dec 1, 1997.

“She persuades us to admire an execrable (‘lovable’, she says) woman who was doggedly, arrogantly and treacherously misguided.” Mosley’s final insult; Sunday Times (London, UK): Aug 24, 2003.