Pronounced: SPY-nuhs, adj
Notes: I knew that this word meant “having spines (or prickles or thorns)”, but there is another meaning that I did not know, so it’s been listed
Yesterday’s word
The word eiron means “a person characterized by self-deprecation and awareness of irony”
Background / Comments
The word comes from the same source as alazon: Eiron is another stock character in ancient Greek comedy. Eiron is the opposite to Alazon, and triumphs over him using his self-deprecation and feigned ignorance.
First usage
This word came into English in the mid-1800s (you’d think they words would have come in together, but they are about 50 years apart)
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 