From now on I will take my pick of juicy vocab words every wednesday and post 6 every week-
Fairly high on the list of words whose spelling would change if good sense reigned is subpoena, which in a more orderly world would probably be spelled supeena. But it's not, and Latin is to blame for that. It's originally two words, sub poena, "under penalty," which were the first words on the writ to which subpoena now refers.
Green Acres Word of the Day:
bucolic
Don't be thrown off by the terminal syllables of this word, which may remind you of burpy babies. Bucolic is all about the good life -- specifically, the good life out in the country. Idyllic and pastoral often cover the same territory. The root of bucolic is from the Greek word for cowherd.
Don't be thrown off by the terminal syllables of this word, which may remind you of burpy babies. Bucolic is all about the good life -- specifically, the good life out in the country. Idyllic and pastoral often cover the same territory. The root of bucolic is from the Greek word for cowherd.
No Charge Word of the Day:
gratis
English has a native word that works in the two grammatical slots available to gratis. The slots are adjective and adverb, and the word is free. Despite that, folks use this elegant Latin variation all the time, as a search online in news or blogs will show you. Gratis is related to grace, and also to the words for "thank you" in a dozen different Romance languages.
English has a native word that works in the two grammatical slots available to gratis. The slots are adjective and adverb, and the word is free. Despite that, folks use this elegant Latin variation all the time, as a search online in news or blogs will show you. Gratis is related to grace, and also to the words for "thank you" in a dozen different Romance languages.
Willowy Word of the Day:
withe
You can treat this noun as a homophone of with, or you can voice the terminal dental fricative, and you can even lengthen the i so that the word rhymes with scythe; but it all cases it means the same thing: a flexible branch or twig. Withe is from withy, a Middle English word denoting willows, or specifically the osier, whose branches have long been used in basketry.
Under Fire Word of the Day: barrage
This noun is a transatlantic shibboleth: British speakers stress the first syllable, and North Americans stress the second, following the habit of the word's originators -- that would be the French. It denotes heavy artillery fire concentrated in a particular area, from which evolved the figurative sense of vigorous and voluminous outpouring: as in a barrage of complaints.
Visit the following URL to look up the word of the day in the Visual Thesaurus:
You can treat this noun as a homophone of with, or you can voice the terminal dental fricative, and you can even lengthen the i so that the word rhymes with scythe; but it all cases it means the same thing: a flexible branch or twig. Withe is from withy, a Middle English word denoting willows, or specifically the osier, whose branches have long been used in basketry.
Under Fire Word of the Day: barrage
This noun is a transatlantic shibboleth: British speakers stress the first syllable, and North Americans stress the second, following the habit of the word's originators -- that would be the French. It denotes heavy artillery fire concentrated in a particular area, from which evolved the figurative sense of vigorous and voluminous outpouring: as in a barrage of complaints.
Visit the following URL to look up the word of the day in the Visual Thesaurus:
Small is Beautiful Word of the Day:
minimalist
This noun, an early 20th-century coinage based on minimal and minimum, denotes folks who like to do things small, figuratively speaking. A political minimalist favors minimal goals and powers of government. A minimalist artist puts forth simple, often massive or geometric forms and calls them art. A minimalist lifestyle, when not imposed by poverty, tends toward keeping things simple.
Come Up and See Me Sometime Word of the Day:
subpoenaThis noun, an early 20th-century coinage based on minimal and minimum, denotes folks who like to do things small, figuratively speaking. A political minimalist favors minimal goals and powers of government. A minimalist artist puts forth simple, often massive or geometric forms and calls them art. A minimalist lifestyle, when not imposed by poverty, tends toward keeping things simple.
Fairly high on the list of words whose spelling would change if good sense reigned is subpoena, which in a more orderly world would probably be spelled supeena. But it's not, and Latin is to blame for that. It's originally two words, sub poena, "under penalty," which were the first words on the writ to which subpoena now refers.
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