Word of the Day for Thursday December 22, 2005 querulous \KWER-uh-luhs; -yuh\, adjective: 1. Apt to find fault; habitually complaining. 2. Expressing complaint; fretful; whining. Querulous Oscar rattles on, never more or less than himself, but never much more than the content of his grumpy rattling. --Sven Birkerts, "A Frolic of His Own," [1]New Republic, February 7, 1994 Mam is a tragic figure when transported to New York by her successful sons -- querulous, unable to get a decent cup of tea. --Maureen Howard, "McCourt's New World," [2]New York Times, September 19, 1999 Men who feel strong in the justice of their cause, or confident in their powers, do not waste breath in childish boasts of their own superiority and querulous depreciation of their antagonists. --James Russell Lowell, "The Pickens-and-Stealin's Rebellion," [3]The Atlantic, June 1861 _________________________________________________________ Querulous comes from Latin querulus, from queri, "to complain." References 1. http://www.tnr.com/ 2. http://www.nytimes.com/ 3. http://www.theatlantic.com/ Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=9&q=querulous