Question

dudgeon \DUH-jun\

Accepted Answer

nounA feeling of offense or resentment; anger.["Dudgeon" is today most often used in the phrase "in high dudgeon" (which in turn sometimes gives rise to playful variations such as "middling dudgeon," "intermediate dudgeon," "towering dudgeon," "lofty dudgeon," and so on). It's a mystery where the expression came from, however. (Conjectures as to a connection to a Welsh word, "dygen," meaning "malice," have no basis.) There does not appear to be any connection whatever to the very old "dudgeon" — a now obsolete term once used for a dagger or a kind of wood out of which dagger handles were made. But since at least 1573 curmudgeons and others have expressed their indignation with "dudgeon."Of unknown origin. Earliest documented use: 1380. This word is often used in the term "in high dudgeon" as in "He went off in high dudgeon" meaning "He left in great anger and indignation."]"Germany's trade unions are in a state of considerable dudgeon about plans to cut state spending and squeeze the welfare state. The dudgeon will grow if more deficit-cutting consigns more of their members to the ranks of the unemployed." Brian Beedham, Why Kohl Should Accept Postponement of Monetary Union, The International Herald Tribune (France), Apr 8, 1997.

Dudgeon High Connection Meaning Term Dagger State Duh Jun