One Step Now Education

July 19, 2024

irascible

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I found this word in an article that was referring to the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. Whether or not the Prime Minister has earned this adjective or not may be questionable. Let’s first find out what it means.

Meaning

What is this word’s meaning and how does the word function?

Understanding a word’s orthography is not just understanding a word’s meaning but its function as well. The word irascible, according to the Collins dictionary, is used to talk about someone “who becomes angry very easily.” Synonyms include cross, ill-tempered, or crabby.

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The word functions as adjectives do. They can modify nouns:

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the irascible prime minister

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They can also be subject complements:

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Her boss is irascible.

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Longer adjectives tend to form their comparative and superlative forms using more and most.

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You couldn’t find a more irascible neighbor.
The most irascible child would be calmed by this puppy.

Structure

What are the elements that make up this word’s structure?

I know this word is an adjective by how it was used in the context of describing Mr. Trudeau. However, I also know this is an adjective because it has the suffix <-ible>.

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irasc + ible

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There are a few things floating in my mind I notice about that first part. I am wondering if the word irascible is related to rascal, which is what caught my eye about the word to begin this investigation. I am also wondering if the <ir> is an assimilated prefix like you see on irrational. Do you and your students Notice & Wonder about words too?

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There’s only one way to find out. We have to head over to Etymonline, my first resource when considering the history of a word. Knowing the word’s root will help lead to the word’s base in PDE (Present-Day English).

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The entry there gives me a date of the late 14th century. This is still the Middle English period, when the Norman French had taken over the monarchy and other offices in England. Therefore, I’m not surprised to see a French origin for this word.

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OF irascible​
L. irascibilis​
L. irasci​
L. ira

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The first two words are adjectives. The third word is a Latin verb meaning “be angry.” You may notice it doesn’t have an expected infinitive ending of <-are>, <-ere> or <-ire>. This is a deponent verb which is neither here nor there unless you are studying Latin. However, it does mean there will be no “second and fourth principal parts” to look at. Only three are listed:

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irascor, irasci, iratus

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The last two can be used to determine an English base.

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But there’s something else going on here. The <sc> we see in some Latin verbal roots is an inchoative element that is added to show a sense of “starting to, or beginning to.” We see remnants of this inchoative element in words like adolescent, “beginning to be an adult,” and effervescent, “beginning to boil; get hot.” In our word, perhaps we are “beginning to anger.”

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ira + sc + ible

Relatives

What are the word’s relatives and history?

Which words share a base and a root with irascible? There is irascibility and the obscure *iracund. There is not a relationship with the name Ira.

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Etymologically, this root is also the source of ire. From that base, we get irate.

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Our word is unrelated to rascal; however, rascal may be related to rash.

Graphemes

What can the pronunciation of the word teach us about its graphemes and phonology?

The letter sequence <sc> may be pronounced as a consonant cluster, as in scary and Scotch. It may also be a consonant digraph pronounced as [s], as in scent and obscene, and in our word irascible.

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We also have the homophonic suffix choice of <-able> or <-ible>. Similar to <-ance> and <-ence>, if the base is derived from a Latin verbal root with the infinitive suffix <-are>, then it will often take <-able>. If the base is derived from a Latin verbal root with the infinitive suffix <-ere> or <-ire>, it can take <-ible>. Most of the time. Again, like those suffixes, the fact that <-able> is still productive can complicate matters. Here, we have a deponent verb without the expected infinitive suffixes as well.

Next Steps

Where do I go next?

What can you and your students discover about adjectives that form the comparative and superlative with <-er> and <-est> vs. more and most?

What can you and your students discover about words that take an <-able> and words that take <-ible>?

Why might some words have <sc> consonant cluster or an <sk> consonant cluster? Are there any patterns to note when <sc> is not a consonant cluster but a digraph spelling /s/ instead?

How about it, Canadians? Do you find Justin Trudeau irascible?

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Stay curious,

Brad

One Step Now Education

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