• rivalrous •
Pronunciation: rai-vêl-rês • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Related to rivalry, competitive, adversariality.
Notes: Today's is a word whose infrequent usage belies its beauty. It is the adjective of rivalry, which reflects the attitudes of rivals. Rival may be used as a verb, for which you may or may not double the final L when conjugating it: rivaled or rivalled, rivaling or rivalling. Apparently, no one has ever tried rivalrosity, despite its being quite grammatical.
In Play: This word can refer to personal relationships: "The friendship of William Arami and Phil Anders became rivalrous when both began courting Marian Kine." It may just as well refer to international relationships: "The United States and China are becoming more and more rivalrous as the former becomes more socialistic and the latter, more capitalistic."
Word History: English grabbed this word from French on one of its raids on that language; French inherited it from Latin rivalis "neighbor, one using the same stream; rival, adversarial suitor", the adjective for rivus "small stream, brook". Latin derived its word from rei-wo- "to flow, run", source also of English rivulet, borrowed from Latin rivulus "small stream", diminutive of rivus. With other suffixes we find rei- also behind Croatian rijeka "river", Russian and Serbian reka "river", Dutch and German rennen "to run", and English run. The river Rhein also derives from the same PIE source, from Middle High German Rin. The H was added under the influence of the Greek spelling of its name, Rhenos. (Now a graceful thank-you to our friend since 2009 Professor Kyu Ho Youm of the University of Oregon for today's melodious Good Word.)
