So boyfriend felt the need to check up on my use of the word irregardless (which I debated over using) in the last post, and it turns out there is a Wikipedia entry devoted to it. So I decided to resuscitate the dying Word of the Day feature to focus on the controversy surrounding it. According to Wikipedia:
"Irregardless is a term meaning in spite of or anyway, that has caused controversy since it first appeared in the early twentieth century. It is generally listed in dictionaries as 'incorrect' or 'nonstandard'.
The origin of irregardless is not known for certain, but the consensus among references is that it is a blend of irrespective and regardless, both of which are commonly accepted standard English words. By blending these words, an illogical word is created. "Since the prefix ir- means 'not' (as it does with irrespective), and the suffix -less means 'without,' irregardless is a double negative."
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