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A.Word.A.Day--adit

Pronunciation Sound Clip RealAudio

This week's theme: A medley of words

adit (AD-it) noun

1. Access; entrance; admission.
2. A nearly horizontal passage leading into a mine.

[From Latin aditus (approach, entrance), from adire (to approach), from ire (to go). Ultimately from Indo-European root ei- (to go) that is also the ancestor of words such as exit, transit, circuit, itinerary, and obituary.]

"As the tramcar passed beneath the low-slung adit, Sam Sanders's head was crushed against the timbers."
Fred Girard; The Last Bus Stop; The Detroit News; Jan 30, 2006.

See more usage examples of adit in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

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