329: uncouth Nov 2, 2015

Someone who or something which is uncouth has poor manners. This word comes from the word 'cūth', which is a participle of 'cunnan' meaning 'to know' or 'to be able' in Old English, with the idea that people who don't know things are unsophisticated. The modern term 'couth' was created after the word uncouth' through back-formation. More tomorrow on the word 'cunnan' at 5:30 EST.