• mutiny •
Pronunciation: myut-ên-i • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: An organized revolt against a legitimate authority, particularly aboard a ship.
Notes: Here is a word closely associated with military organizations, particularly with naval ones. It comes with an adjective, mutinous, and a personal noun, mutineer. It may also be used as an intransitive verb, as 'to mutiny against the officers'.
In Play: This word is mostly closely associated with naval vessels as a result of the numerous books on the mutiny on the Bounty: "A mutiny broke out among the crew when they found out that the officers, who had cut off their rum, were enjoying it every evening with their meals." However, it isn't limited to ships: "Jack had a mutiny on his hands when his kids left for the movies, ignoring their chores."
Word History: Today's Good Word was created by adding the very popular suffix -y to the now defunct noun, mutine "popular disturbance, tumult, rebellion". English borrowed the word from French mutiner "to mutiny", demised to French by Vulgar (Street) Latin movita "military uprising", the feminine past participle of classical Latin movere "to move". Latin adapted its word from PIE meue-/moue- "to move", which we find in Sanskrit as mivati "moves, pushes", and Lithuanian mauti "put on, rush". French also converted the Vulgar Latin word into meute "pack (animals), mob", which Dutch and German borrowed in the same sense. (Now let's thank Diane McGuire for seeing the goodness in today's raucous Good Word.)
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