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Jan 20, 2021
This week’s theme
Words to describe people

This week’s words
diversivolent
smatchet
mensch
unflappable
circumspect

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

mensch

PRONUNCIATION:
(mench, mensh)
plural menschen (MEN-chuhn, MEN-shuhn) or mensches

MEANING:
noun: A decent, upright, honorable person.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Yiddish mentsh (man, human being), from Middle High German mensch, from Old High German mennisco. Earliest documented use: 1911.

USAGE:
“A mensch is a good man, a loyal man, an honest man. A mensch is the answer to the question, ‘What do women really want from men?’ ... A mensch is not usually interested in fame. ... A mensch is a veterinarian who will meet you at his office late at night when your cat is sick.”
Ira Wood; The Kitchen Man; Leapfrog Press; 1998.

“‘You’re a mensch,’ Mr Eizenstat told Mr Biden. But probably not a president.”
Biden Ridin’; The Economist (London, UK); Sep 4, 2015.

See more usage examples of mensch in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Our nation is shaped by the constant battle between our better angels and our darkest impulses. It is time for our better angels to prevail. -Joe Biden, 46th US President (b. 20 Nov 1942)

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