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Nov 14, 2017
This week’s theme
Toponyms from fiction

This week’s words
grimgribber
ecotopia
ruritanian
edenic
stepford

ecotopia
Cover of the first edition of the novel
Image: Wikimedia

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

ecotopia

PRONUNCIATION:
(EE-ko-to-pee-uh, EK-o-)

MEANING:
noun: An ecologically ideal place.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Ecotopia (1975), the title of a novel by Ernest Callenbach. In the book, the word is used to describe the Pacific coast of the US. A blend of eco- + utopia, which itself is the title of Thomas More’s 1516 book. Earliest documented use: 1975.

USAGE:
“The development plan calls for a veritable ecotopia ... The neighborhood would tap wind, solar, and perhaps tidal power.”
John Coté and Rachel Gordon; Deal on Transfer of Treasure Island; San Francisco Chronicle; Aug 18, 2010.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love. -Claude Monet, painter (14 Nov 1840-1926)

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