Wednesday Word: Restive

restive |ˈrestiv|adjective(of a person) unable to keep still or silent and becomingincreasingly difficult to control, esp. because ofimpatience, dissatisfaction, or boredom.• (of a horse) refusing to advance, stubbornly standing still or moving backward or sideways.DERIVATIVESrestively adverbrestiveness nounORIGIN late 16th cent.: from Old French restif, -ive, from Latin restare ‘remain.’ The original sense,[inclined to remain still, inert,] has undergone a reversal; the association with the refractory movements of a horse gave rise to the current sense [fidgety,restless.]

This word means exactly the opposite I would've guessed. I doubt restive is used much these days--I only became aware of it listening to Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade by Diana Gabaldon.

Oh, and I've fallen in love with Lord John. Diana Gabaldon's writing tend for the long-winded, and must admit my attention was flagging when I first starting to read the book. However, my experience much improved switching to the ebook. The narrator, Jeff Woodman, is top-notch, unfurling the lengthy prose with ease.