THE FIRST WORD

inimical

PRONUNCIATION:

(i-NIM-i-kuhl) 

MEANING:

adjective: 1. Harmful. 2. Unfriendly.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin in- (not) + amicus (friend). A few other words that share the same root are: amigo, amity, enemy, amicable, and amicus curiae. Earliest documented use: 1645.

USAGE:

"But the landers found no other signs of biological activity, nor any organic compounds. If anything, the soil seemed inimical to life."
Burkhard Bilger; The Martian Chroniclers; The New Yorker; Apr 22, 2013.