Word of the Day — Ill

Ill. Sick, unwell, evil, suffering, distress.  One three letter word that has nothing going for it other than we all pretty much know what it means.  Now that I’m interested, ill always makes me thing of Virginia Woolf‘s essay  ‘On Being Ill‘, though I have yet to read it. I want to, but haven’t found a copy yet.

 

¹ill

adjective \ˈil\

: not well or healthy : sick or unhealthy

of health : not normal or good

: harmful or damaging

worse worst

Full Definition of ILL

1a chiefly Scottish :  immoral, vicious

b :  resulting from, accompanied by, or indicative of an evil or malevolent intention <ill deeds>

 c :  attributing evil or an objectionable quality <held an ill opinion of his neighbors>

2 a :  causing suffering or distress <ill weather>

  b comparative also ill·er superlative also illest (1) :  not normal or sound <ill health> (2) :  not in good health; also :  nauseated

3a :  not suited to circumstances or not to one’s advantage :  unlucky <an ill omen>

 b :  involving difficulty :  hard

4a :  not meeting an accepted standard <ill manners>

 b archaic :  notably unskillful or inefficient

5:  unfriendly, hostile <ill feeling>

Why a sick word today?  Good question. Probably because I am ill myself. Ill with a cold.  At least I’m not the ill of my mother…. pneumonia.

Signing off

~Kate