Word of the Week: Irregardless

This is a new feature for the JB Dryden Company blog. Each Wednesday I will focus on one word, it's etymology, and some proper uses (or improper in some cases).

Today's word: irregardless.

Irregardless is an erroneous word meant to mean regardless. Etymologically it has a strange place, having a status much akin to flammable/inflammable and may one day have a similar function. It has been in use (again, erroneously) since the 1870s. It was probably a blending of irrespective and regardless.