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Aug 14, 2008
This week's theme
Miscellaneous words

This week's words
loquacious
austral
nugacity
epiphenomenon
fugacious

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

epiphenomenon

PRONUNCIATION:
(ep-i-fuh-NOM-uh-non, nuhn)

MEANING:
noun:
1. A secondary phenomenon, one resulting from another.
2. An additional symptom appearing during the course of an illness, but not necessarily related to it.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Greek epi- (upon, after, over) + phainomenon (that which appears), from phainesthai (to appear).

USAGE:
"So if politics has become no more than a mere epiphenomenon of entertainment, a shadow play of a shadow play, why not go to the source?"
Peter Biskind; When Worlds Collide; The Nation (New York); Apr 5, 1999.

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

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
It is easier to lead men to combat, stirring up their passion, than to restrain them and direct them toward the patient labors of peace. -Andre Gide, author, Nobel laureate (1869-1951)

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