muppet

Pronounced: MUHP-it, noun

Notes: No, not the Sesame Street puppets (sorry about the very late post-RL)

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Yesterday’s word

The word insouciant means “free of worry or anxiety; nonchalant”

First usage

This word came into English in the early 1800s

Background / Comments

I keep thinking that this word is a synonym for “insolent” (probably just because the words start similarly). The base of this word is the French word souciant, which is the present participle of soucier (to worry). It is combined with the prefix in- (not). The French word came from the Latin word sollicītāre (to disturb). If I hadn’t been distracted by the similar word “insolent”, I should have been able to figure it out… I know about the Prussian ruler Frederick the Great – he built a castle as a retreat; a place to be free from worry or case, and he called it that: Sanssouci (sans souci – without care”) Palace. Knowing this, I should have been able to parse our word.