Added 10 October 2026
stiff-necked
adjective
In Latin: contumax Wiktionary
adjective Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. More about stiff-necked at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
Origin
From stiff + neck + -ed. (figurative): Calque of Hebrew קשה ערף (Exodus 33). A biblical term similar to Swedish styvnackad, Ancient Greek σκληροτράχηλος (sklērotrákhēlos), Russian жестоковыйный (žestokovyjnyj), German halsstarrig etc.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)