Word Woman

Welcome to another mind-bending installment of Word Woman's Weekly Work-Out! This is the second entry in our series of words which only seem to appear in the negative. And the Word of the Week is:

Impervious:

Pronunciation: \(ˌ)im-ˈpər-vē-əs\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Latin impervius, from in- + pervius pervious

Date: 1640

1 a : not allowing entrance or passage : impenetrable b : not capable of being damaged or harmed
2 : not capable of being affected or disturbed

— im·per·vi·ous·ly adverb

— im·per·vi·ous·ness noun

"impervious." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2010.

Merriam-Webster Online. 12 May 2010

But have you heard the word:

Pervious:
Pronunciation: \ˈpər-vē-əs\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Latin pervius, from per- through + via way — more at per-, way

Date: circa 1614

1 : accessible
2 : permeable

— per·vi·ous·ness noun

"pervious." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2010.

Merriam-Webster Online. 12 May 2010

Example: Stan's raincoat, which had "impervious to water" written on the label, turned out to be rather more pervious than expected when he got drenched during a thunderstorm.