Wordsmith.org: the magic of words


A.Word.A.Day

About | Media | Search | Contact  


Home

Today's Word

Subscribe

Archives



Oct 22, 2021
This week’s theme
Eponyms

This week’s words
brewstered
hoover
cookie monster
marplot
Panglossian

panglossian
Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Pangloss in an LA Opera production of Candide

This week’s comments
AWADmail 1008

Next week’s theme
Words coined after fairy tales and folktales
Bookmark and Share Facebook Twitter Digg MySpace Bookmark and Share
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

Panglossian

PRONUNCIATION:
(pan-GLOS-ee-uhn)

MEANING:
adjective: Blindly or unreasonably optimistic.
noun: One who is optimistic regardless of the circumstances.

ETYMOLOGY:
After Dr. Pangloss, a philosopher and tutor in Voltaire’s 1759 satire Candide. Pangloss believes that, in spite of what happens -- shipwreck, earthquake, hanging, flogging, and more -- “All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds.” The name is coined from Greek panglossia (talkativeness). Earliest documented use: 1831. The word pangloss is used in the same manner.

USAGE:
“The clueless desert viceroys ... misled reporters with their Panglossian scenarios of progress.”
Maureen Dowd; Neocons Slither Back; The New York Times; Sep 15, 2012.

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

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you've understood all your life, but in a new way. -Doris Lessing, novelist, poet, playwright, Nobel laureate (22 Oct 1919-2013)

We need your help

Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere

Donate

Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith