Did You Know?

Opine has been around since the 15th century, and while it certainly is not a rare word today, not everyone is inclined to take it seriously. Commentators have described it as a stilted word, appropriate only in facetious use - and it does have an undeniable tendency to turn up in humorous writing. Recent evidence, however, suggests that it is being used in perfectly respectable contexts more often. It typically serves to emphasize that the opinion being reported is just that - an opinion. The etymology of opine is perfectly respectable, too. The term derives from the Middle French opiner ("to express one's opinion") and the Latin opinari, meaning "to have an opinion or "to think."