Restive? Oh, you mean not restful.

Hi kids. Have you ever wondered about the meaning of the word 'restive?' Boy, I know I have. It sure confuses the heck out of me.

How did 'restive' become an antonym of 'restful' when they more logically would be synonyms? Apparently 'restive' was originally used in the following ways:

(Shorter Oxford English Dictionary)
1.Inclined to rest or remain still; inactive, inert.
2.Persistent, obstinate, settled, or fixed, in an opinion or course of action.

But the following is the definition that is still in use:

3. (Orig. of a horse) refusing to go forward, stubbornly standing still, obstinately moving backwards or to the side; unmanageable, resisting control, intractable, refractory. Now also, restless, fidgety.

Lazy journalists who can't seem to find a more appropriate word have siezed exclusively on the 'unmanageable, resisting control, intractable' part of the definition and morphed it into the completely illogical 'restless.' I am against this. Now someone really can't use in its more logical usage as a more colorful synonym for 'stubborn' and that, my friends, is a loss to the language without a corresponding offsetting gain to make up for that loss.