Today's Word "Redoubtable"
Published in Vocabulary
redoubtable \re-DOU-tuh-buhl\ (adjective) - Arousing fear or awe; evoking respect or honor.
"Even the redoubtable Jose Jenkins in accounting, long the model of any and all who dared to tally an index sheet, had a few monumental blunders in his jacket."
From Middle English redoubtabel, from Old French redoutable, from redouter (to dread), from re- (again) + douter (to doubt, fear). Redoubtable ultimately derives from Indo-European root *dwo-, meaning two. A person of two minds about something is in doubt or dubious. The uncertainty of doubt can give rise to fear, even dread. Thus, a redoubtable person is to be feared, or at least respected. In contrast, a fact too apparent even to be doubted is indubitable. Others in this *dwo- family that are not obvious include "tw" words betwixt, between, twig, twilight, twist, twine, intertwine, twill, and twinkle.
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