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A.Word.A.Day--neapolitan

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Neapolitan (nee-uh-POL-i-tuhn) adjective

Of, belonging to, or characteristic of Naples, Italy.

noun

A native or resident of Naples, Italy.

[Middle English, from Latin Neapolitanus, from Greek neapolites, from Neapolis, Naples, Italy.]

"As one Neapolitan businessman put it, `70% of the new roads around Naples cannot be used ....'" Not as bad as it was, but plenty left to do: Southern promise, The Economist, 8 Nov 1997.

A New York native is a New Yorker, one hailing from Thailand is a Thai, and someone from India is an Indian. But it's not always that easy as George W. Bush, U.S. presidential candidate, has discovered in recent months (he used the word Kosovarians for Kosovars and East Timorians instead of East Timorese, among others). This week's AWAD features words for denizens of various places, especially those that you can never deduce just by looking at the name. Pay attention--you never know when you might need this week's words--they'll come in handy even if you don't aspire to having an email address ending in whitehouse.gov. -Anu

X-Bonus

There is one art of which man should be master, the art of reflection. -Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)

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