Restive Remain Word Means Unable Res Tiv Adjective Restless

restive /RES-tiv/

adjective

Restless, uneasy.

[From Middle French rester (to remain), from Latin restare (to remain standing). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sta- (to stand), which is also the source of stay, stage, stable, instant, establish, static, system, stet and nihil obstat. Earliest documented use: 1549. Earlier the word meant refusing to go forward, as in a restive horse. Over time the word shifted in meaning and now it means the opposite. Instead of "unable to advance", now it means "unable to remain still".]

"The more than 500,000 small-scale coffee farmers are restive. Last month thousands marched though Manizales, the capital of the coffee-belt, demanding more government help and a shake-up of the federation." - Bitter Grounds; The Economist (London, UK); Sep 15, 2012.