Word of the Day

Saturday July 11, 2009

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chary [CHAIR-ee]

adjective

1. Careful, wary; cautious.
2. Saving; frugal; sparing.

• Remembering how Republicans suffered from the 1995 government shutdown, other GOP senators are chary about a continuing resolution repeating unpleasant history (though it is hard to see why this time the minority party and the president would be blamed, in contrast to what happened 12 years ago).
  Robert Novak, "Lawmaker Santas to stuff plenty of pork into spending bill", Chicago Sun – Times, Dec 17, 2007
• Now, 200 years have passed, and the cathedral's structure is collapsing. The novel's central figures are Merthin, a soldier's son but a mason and architect, and Caris, an independent young woman who loves Merthin but is none too keen on marrying him, chary of a wife's expected obedience.
  Bill Greenwell, "Patience is a virtue that this slab of a saga rewards", The Independent. Oct 26, 2007
• And she had no doubts as to the extent of her power. She knew that Mr. Gryce was of the small chary type most inaccessible to impulses and emotions.
  Edith Wharton (1862 –1937) An American novelist, short story writer and designer. The House of Mirth (1905)

Origin of the Word

Chary, derives from Old English cearig "sorrowful". Sense evolved 1600 from "full of care" to "careful": care.