importunity

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• Received-Pronunciation: /ˌɪmpəˈtjuːnɪti/
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• Received-Pronunciation: /-pɔː-/
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• Received-Pronunciation: /-t͡ʃuː-/
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• General-American: /ˌɪmpəɹˈt(j)unɪti/
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• General-American: /-poɹ-/
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• General-American: [-ɾi]
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• General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• rhymes with -uːnɪti
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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 go through;”)) + -nus (suffix forming adjectives). By surface analysis, importune + -ity (suffix forming abstract nouns from adjectives, referring to the state of conforming to what the adjectives describe).

14 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Bulgarian: настойчивост (nastojčivost) — constant and insistent demanding or proposing, especially if regarded as annoying or upsetting; the character of such behaviour; an instance of this
• Catalan: importunitat — constant and insistent demanding or proposing, especially if regarded as annoying or upsetting; the character of such behaviour; an instance of this
• Czech: neodbytnost — constant and insistent demanding or proposing, especially if regarded as annoying or upsetting; the character of such behaviour; an instance of this
• Finnish: tungettelu — constant and insistent demanding or proposing, especially if regarded as annoying or upsetting; the character of such behaviour; an instance of this
• Finnish: utelu — constant and insistent demanding or proposing, especially if regarded as annoying or upsetting; the character of such behaviour; an instance of this
• French: importunité — constant and insistent demanding or proposing, especially if regarded as annoying or upsetting; the character of such behaviour; an instance of this
• German: Aufdringlichkeit — constant and insistent demanding or proposing, especially if regarded as annoying or upsetting; the character of such behaviour; an instance of this
• German: ständiges Bedrängen — constant and insistent demanding or proposing, especially if regarded as annoying or upsetting; the character of such behaviour; an instance of this
• Italian: importunità — constant and insistent demanding or proposing, especially if regarded as annoying or upsetting; the character of such behaviour; an instance of this
• Portuguese: importunidade — constant and insistent demanding or proposing, especially if regarded as annoying or upsetting; the character of such behaviour; an instance of this
• Russian: насты́рность (nastýrnostʹ) — constant and insistent demanding or proposing, especially if regarded as annoying or upsetting; the character of such behaviour; an instance of this
• Russian: назо́йливость (nazójlivostʹ) — constant and insistent demanding or proposing, especially if regarded as annoying or upsetting; the character of such behaviour; an instance of this
• Spanish: importunidad — constant and insistent demanding or proposing, especially if regarded as annoying or upsetting; the character of such behaviour; an instance of this
• Turkish: sırnaşıklık — constant and insistent demanding or proposing, especially if regarded as annoying or upsetting; the character of such behaviour; an instance of this