facetious (2009-08-30)

Part of Speech: adjective

Pronunciation: [fê-'see-shês]

Definition: Humorous or meant to be humorous but actually mildly sarcastic or slightly inappropriate.

Usage: Here is a facetiously posed question that would go over like a lead zeppelin at an international Scrabble meet: "Can you think of a word that has all six vowels in alphabetical order?" And here is an example of the clever sort we would all like to slap: "The man next to me on the plane had a facetious comment about every country I planned to visit during my European holiday."

Suggested Usage: Today's word means funny or witty on the surface, but oftentimes it carries the extra weight of joking in the wrong setting or on the wrong subject. The adverb is "facetiously;" the noun, "facetiousness."

Etymology: This word comes into English from the Latin facetus "graceful, pleasing, witty" by way of French facétieux "mischievous." The Latin word is possibly related to fax, faces "torch" and Russian svecha "candle" but problems surround the connection.