cavalier

adjective ~ 1. debonair; *2. marked by or given to offhand and often disdainful dismissal of important matters

*”I’m tired of the cavalier way you brush off my concerns,” Mon said, “so I’m taking away the car keys until you start listening to me!”

Did you know? –> According to a dictionary prepared by Thomas Blount in 1656, a cavalier was “a knight or gentleman, serving on horseback, a man of arms.” That meaning was true to the history of the noun, which traces back to the Late Latin caballarius, meaning “horseman.” Since Blount’s day, “cavalier” has gained several new senses. By around 1600, it had come to denote “a roistering swaggering fellow.” In the 1640s, English Puritans applied it disdainfully to their adversaries, the swashbuckling royalist followers of Charles I, who sported longish hair and swords. Although some looked upon those cavaliers as “several sorts of Malignant Men…ready to commit all manner of Outrage and Violence,” others saw them as quite suave — which may explain why “cavalier” can be either complimentary or a bit insulting.

Merriam-Webster’s 365 New Words Calendar, www.pageaday.com, Workman Publishing