importunity
/ˌɪmpəˈtjuːnɪti/
importunity means constant and insistent demanding or proposing, especially if regarded as annoying or upsetting; also, the character of such behaviour; (countable) an instance of this. It carries an Arena rating of 1735, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, importunity ranks #314 of 13,217 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #685 of 13,217 for Most Satisfying to Say, #1,789 of 13,217 for Most Ponderous Words, #2,397 of 13,217 for Most Malleable Words.
importunity is pronounced /ˌɪmpəˈtjuːnɪti/.
Why “importunity” is a great word
Persistent and pressing solicitation or demand, carried to the point of annoyance or harassment. From Late Middle English importunitie, from Anglo-Norman and Middle French importunité, from Latin importūnitās ('insolence, oppressiveness, unsuitableness'), from importūnus ('annoying, inconvenient'), from in- ('not') + portus ('harbor, refuge')—thus, figuratively, offering no safe port. Unlike an entreaty, which is a sincere and earnest request, or a neutral insistence, which can be principled, importunity is an unwelcome siege upon one's attention. It is the relentless knock at the door long past midnight, the repeated tug on a sleeve, the low drone of a plea that has drowned out its own merit—the weary recognition that some appeals are defined not by their cause, but by their refusal to end.
Etymology
From Late Middle English importunitie, importunyte (“insistence, persistence; grievance; hardship, trouble; inappropriateness (?)”), from Anglo-Norman importunité, and Middle French importunité (“persistent demand; hardship, trouble; something difficult or troublesome; inappropriateness”) (modern French importunité), and their etymon Latin importūnitās (“insolence, rudeness; oppressiveness, relentlessness; unfitness, unsuitableness”), from importūnus (“annoying; rude; inconvenient; unsuitable”) + -tās (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns denoting states of being).
Importūnus is derived from im- (a variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + portus (“harbour, port; haven, refuge”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (“crossing”), from *per- (“to carry forth, fare; to dare, try; to g
noun
- Constant and insistent demanding or proposing, especially if regarded as annoying or upsetting; also, the character of such behaviour; (countable) an instance of this.“And he [Jesus] ſayde vnto thẽ [them]: which of you ſhall have a frende and ſhall goo to hym att mydnyght⸝ and ſaye vnto hym: frende lende me foure loves for a frende of myne is come out off the waye to me⸝ and I have nothynge to ſett before hĩ [him]⸝ And he within ſhall andſwer and ſaye: Trouble me nott⸝ nowe is the doore ſhett⸝ and my ſervaunttꝭ [servaunttis, i.e., servants] are with me in the ch”
- The fact of being at an inappropriate or unsuitable time; unseasonableness.“Speake not, where there is no audyence: and poure not forth wyſzdome out of tyme, at an importunyte.”
- Persistence in behaviour; determination, perseverance, stubbornness.“I beſech the [thee] with what colours coude more workmanly haue be paynteth and ſet out eyther venymous entycementes and wanton pleaſures of the poyſoned fleſſhe⸝ prouokyng ⁊ temptynge the ſoule to fylthynes of ſynne⸝ or elſe the importunytye of the ſame cryenge and ſtryuyng agaynſt the ſpiryte⸝ or the wretched ende that foloweth whan ſhe [a harlot] dothe ouercõme the ſpiryte.”
- The quality of being annoying or troublesome; difficulty, trouble; (countable) an instance of this.“[V]ery often the Importunity and Violence of the Cough vvas to be appeaſed by Elixir Aſthmaticum, Diacodium, &c.”
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