A.Word.A.Day Archives from https://wordsmith.org/awad -------- Date: Mon Feb 1 00:01:04 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--yerk X-Bonus: When you turn the corner / And you run into yourself / Then you know that you have turned / All the corners that are left. -Langston Hughes, poet and novelist (1 Feb 1902-1967) A Washington Post headline last year ran: "Four-letter word again blankets the region". http://www.pressreader.com/usa/the-washington-post/20150306/281479274879988/TextView No, the capital region wasn't having an epidemic of the F-word. It was the S-word. Sure, the stuff looks nice when you're warm sitting indoors, but too much of anything can bring out four-letter words. Just look at the diary of this man new to Minnesota: http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~skaluf/jokes/snow.txt This week we feature some short words, all four letters long. You can say four-letter words blanket the world. But not to worry -- they are all clean. yerk (yuhrk) verb tr., intr.: To rise, stir, strike, whip, pull, kick, etc. noun: A sudden movement, kick, jerk, stab, etc. [Of uncertain origin. Perhaps imitative. Earliest documented use: 1424.] "This was our warm-up for the Wild Chipmunk, the legendary Lakeside roller coaster famous for its endless jerking and yerking." Ricardo Baca; Bars; Denver Post (Colorado); Oct 6, 2006. -------- Date: Tue Feb 2 00:01:03 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--unco X-Bonus: Jobs are like going to church: it's nice once or twice a year to sing along and eat something and all that, but unless you really believe there's something holy going on, it gets to be a drag going in every single week. -Thomas Michael Disch, science fiction author and poet (2 Feb 1940-2008) This week's theme: Four-letter words unco (UHNG-koh) adjective: Unusual; remarkable; strange. adverb: Remarkably; extremely. noun: 1. A stranger. 2. News. [A variant of uncouth, from uncuth, from un- (not) + cuth (known), from cunnan (to know). Ultimately from the Indo-European root gno- (to know), which also gave us know, recognize, acquaint, ignore, diagnosis, notice, normal, agnosia https://wordsmith.org/words/agnosia.html , anagnorisis (the moment of recognition or discovery) https://wordsmith.org/words/anagnorisis.html , prosopagnosia (inability to recognize faces) https://wordsmith.org/words/prosopagnosia.html , cognize https://wordsmith.org/words/cognize.html , gnomon https://wordsmith.org/words/gnomon.html , and kenning https://wordsmith.org/words/kenning.html . Earliest documented use: 1410.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/unco "'You're unco late, dear,' she would say wearily." George Douglas Brown; The House with the Green Shutters; McClure, Phillips & Co.; 1902. "Each tells the uncos that he sees or hears." Robert Burns; The Cotter's Saturday Night; 1785. -------- Date: Wed Feb 3 00:05:03 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--saga X-Bonus: Writers, like teeth, are divided into incisors and grinders. -Walter Bagehot, journalist and businessman (3 Feb 1826-1877) This week's theme: Four-letter words saga (SAH-guh) noun 1. A long narrative of heroic exploits. 2. A long detailed report. [From Old Norse, literally (narrative). Originally, a saga was an Old Norse or Icelandic prose narrative dealing with historic or legendary figures. Earliest documented use: 1709.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/saga "This May's Avengers movie will bring together the successful Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America sagas into one franchise-uniting megamovie." Darren Franich; Avengers vs. X-Men #1; Entertainment Weekly (New York); Feb 8, 2012. -------- Date: Thu Feb 4 00:01:03 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--diel X-Bonus: The mark of the educated man is not in his boast that he has built his mountain of facts and stood on the top of it, but in his admission that there may be other peaks in the same range with men on the top of them, and that, though their views of the landscape may be different from his, they are nonetheless legitimate. -E.J. Pratt, poet (4 Feb 1882-1964) This week's theme: Four-letter words diel (DY-uhl, deel) noun: A period of 24 hours. adjective: Lasting 24 hours or having a 24-hour period. [From Latin dies (day), which also gave us adjourn, diary, diet, circadian, journal, journey, quotidian, and sojourn. Earliest documented use: 1934.] "Composition of fishing labour, sites worked, gear used, and target species all vary during the diel cycle. For example, in American Samoa both men and women fish by day, but night-time fishing is primarily a male task." Nicholas V.C. Polunin and Callum M. Roberts; Reef Fisheries; Springer; 1996. -------- Date: Fri Feb 5 00:01:03 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--alar X-Bonus: The hardest thing about any political campaign is how to win without proving that you are unworthy of winning. -Adlai Stevenson, governor, ambassador (5 Feb 1900-1965) This week's theme: Four-letter words alar (AY-luhr) adjective 1. Relating to wings; wing-shaped. 2. Relating to the armpit. [From Latin ala (wing), which also gave us aisle and aileron https://wordsmith.org/words/aileron.html . Earliest documented use: 1791.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/alar "Fred Urquhart began in 1937 to experiment with different ways of marking these delicate insects in order to study their migration patterns, eventually developing and refining the method of applying an alar tag to the monarch's wing." Gerry Rising; A Salute to the King of the Monarch Butterflies; Buffalo News (New York); Dec 16, 1996. -------- Date: Mon Feb 8 00:01:02 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--maecenas X-Bonus: Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather. -John Ruskin, author, art critic, and social reformer (8 Feb 1819-1900) Last month we looked at five words coined after figures from mythology https://wordsmith.org/words/autolycan.html . Now it's time for people from the real world. This week we'll travel to Rome, Spain, and England and meet five people who have words coined after them. Here's a thought experiment. Imagine that a word is coined after you and added to the English language. What would the word mean? What would you want the word to actually mean? Share your responses in comments on our website https://wordsmith.org/words/maecenas.html . You can also email us at words@wordsmith.org . Maecenas (mee-SEE-nuhs, mi-) noun A generous patron, especially of art, music, or literature. [From Gaius Cilnius Maecenas (c. 70-8 BCE), patron of Horace and Virgil. Earliest documented use: 1542.] The poets Horace, Virgil, and Varius at the house of Maecenas: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/maecenas_large.jpg Art: Charles Francois Jalabert (1819-1901) "A local businessman and cycling fan from his Jura region, Daniel Germond, took on the role of Maecenas and disinterestedly paid his wages for a season, enabling the Frenchman to remain a professional cyclist." Alasdair Fotheringham; Froome Goes on the Attack to Faze Rivals; The Independent on Sunday (London, UK); Jul 12, 2015. -------- Date: Tue Feb 9 00:01:02 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--guy X-Bonus: He who would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself. -Thomas Paine, philosopher and writer (9 Feb 1737-1809) This week's theme: Eponyms (words coined after people) guy (guy) noun: A man (in plural, persons of either sex). verb tr.: To make fun of; ridicule. [After Guy Fawkes (1570-1606), a conspirator in the failed attempt to blow up England's Parliament in 1605. Earliest documented use: 1874.] noun: A rope to steady, guide, or secure something. verb tr.: To steady, guide, or secure something with a rope. [From Old French guie (guide), from guier (to guide). Ultimately from the Indo-European root weid- (to see), which is also the source of guide, wise, vision, advice, idea, story, history, polyhistor https://wordsmith.org/words/polyhistor.html , invidious https://wordsmith.org/words/invidious.html , hades https://wordsmith.org/words/hades.html , eidos https://wordsmith.org/words/eidos.html , eidetic https://wordsmith.org/words/eidetic.html , previse https://wordsmith.org/words/previse.html , vidimus https://wordsmith.org/words/vidimus.html , and vizard https://wordsmith.org/words/vizard.html . Earliest documented use: 1375.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/guy Guy Fawkes https://wordsmith.org/words/images/guy_large.jpg from the book Peeps into the Past, c.1900 Art: Trelleek "There was much guying of America's Tea Party movement or teabaggers, as some hilariously call themselves." Veronica Lee; Bigots and the PC Brigade are Expertly Skewered; The Independent (London, UK); May 27, 2015. "Ropes guyed it down to the goalpost crossbars." Ian McDonald; Kirinya; Gollancz; 1998. -------- Date: Wed Feb 10 00:01:02 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--victorian X-Bonus: I see too plainly custom forms us all. Our thoughts, our morals, our most fixed belief, are consequences of our place of birth. -Aaron Hill, dramatist and writer (10 Feb 1685-1750) This week's theme: Eponyms (words coined after people) Victorian (vik-TOR-ee-uhn) adjective 1. Prudish; outdated; exaggeratedly proper; hypocritical. 2. Relating to the period of the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). 3. Relating to ornate architecture, furnishings, etc., characteristic of the period. [After Queen Victoria of England (1819-1901). Earliest documented use: 1839.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Victorian Queen Victoria, 1886 https://wordsmith.org/words/images/victorian_large.jpg Photo: Alexander Bassano "'We've been discussing how she's not allowed to be alone with a boy until she's twenty-five;' Evan smiled. 'How very Victorian of you.'" Roni Loren; Forever Starts Tonight; InterMix Books; 2014. -------- Date: Thu Feb 11 00:01:02 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gongorism X-Bonus: I was sixteen years old when the first World War broke out, and I lived at that time in Hungary. From reading the newspapers in Hungary, it would have appeared that, whatever Austria and Germany did was right and whatever England, France, Russia, or America did was wrong. A good case could be made out for this general thesis, in almost every single instance. It would have been difficult for me to prove, in any single instance, that the newspapers were wrong, but somehow, it seemed to me unlikely that the two nations located in the center of Europe should be invariably right, and that all the other nations should be invariably wrong. History, I reasoned, would hardly operate in such a peculiar fashion, and it didn't take long until I began to hold views which were diametrically opposed to those held by the majority of my schoolmates. ... Even in times of war, you can see current events in their historical perspective, provided that your passion for the truth prevails over your bias in favor of your own nation. -Leo Szilard, physicist (11 Feb 1898-1964) This week's theme: Eponyms (words coined after people) Gongorism (GONG-uh-riz-uhm) noun An affected literary style marked by intricate language and elaborate figures of speech. [After Spanish baroque poet Luis de Góngora y Argote (1561-1627). Earliest documented use: 1813.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/gongorism Luis de Góngora y Argote https://wordsmith.org/words/images/gongorism_large.jpg Art: Diego Velázquez (1599-1660) Some Gongorisms from Luis de Góngora y Argote: o La vida es ciervo herido, que las flechas le dan alas. (Life is a wounded stag in whom the fast-stuck arrows function as wings.) o A batallas de amor, campo de pluma. (Feathers are love's most fitting battle-ground.) "And the staggering Gongorisms! Shall the ship be called just 'ship'? Perish the thought of such banality! Oh eyes, no eyes, but fountains fraught with tears!" Aldous Huxley; Beyond the Mexique Bay; Chatto & Windus; 1934. -------- Date: Fri Feb 12 00:51:04 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--Addisonian X-Bonus: I own that I cannot see as plainly as others do, and as I should wish to do, evidence of design and beneficence on all sides of us. There seems to me too much misery in the world. I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidae with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of caterpillars, or that a cat should play with mice. -Charles Darwin, naturalist and author (12 Feb 1809-1882) [Ichneumonidae: The family of parasitic wasps that deposit eggs inside or on top of the larvae of other insects. Once hatched, the ichneumonid larva slowly eats its host alive from inside out.] This week's theme: Eponyms (words coined after people) Addisonian (ad-uh-SO-nee-uhn) adjective Having clarity and elegance. [After Joseph Addison (1672-1719), English essayist and poet. Earliest documented use: 1789.] Joseph Addison: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/addisonian_large.jpg Art: Godfrey Kneller Some aphorisms by Addison: o What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to a human soul. o Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. o Content thyself to be obscurely good. When vice prevails, and impious men bear sway, the post of honor is a private station. "Murray Kempton enjoyed being in a group of reporters; he liked to try out ideas for columns, dropping fully formed Addisonian sentences into conversation to see which ones got a nod or a laugh. The winners turned up in the next day's paper." David Von Drehle; A Journalist's Singular Voice; The Washington Post; May 6, 1997. -------- Date: Mon Feb 15 00:01:03 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--megrim X-Bonus: The question is not Can they reason?, nor Can they talk?, but Can they suffer? -Jeremy Bentham, jurist and philosopher (15 Feb 1748-1832) If to err is human, human languages have ample proof of it. What we consider correct spelling or proper pronunciation or official meaning of a word today is sometimes an error that has taken root and become a part of language. The word 'third' was earlier 'thrid', 'helpmate' was 'helpmeet', and 'syllabus' was 'sittybus'. Errors in printing, reading, hearing, or understanding gave the words new spellings, new pronunciations, or new meanings. Time is kind to imperfections. Just wait long enough and what was erroneous is now the standard. In this week's selection we feature five words that were shaped by errors. megrim (MEE-grim) noun 1. (In plural, megrims) Low spirits. 2. Whim. 3. Migraine. [From misreading of "in" in migraine as "m". From French migraine, from Latin hemicrania (pain in one side of the head), from Greek hemi- (half) + kranion (skull). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ker- (horn or head), which also gave us unicorn, horn, hornet, rhinoceros, reindeer, carrot, carat, cerebrate https://wordsmith.org/words/cerebrate.html , and Hindi sirdar (leader, from Persian sar: head). Earliest documented use: 1440.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/megrim "Those who listen to this stuff get the megrims, the fantods*, and loose bowels." Malcolm Berko; The Dow Jones at 23,000; Creators Syndicate (Los Angeles); Nov 11, 2015. https://wordsmith.org/words/fantod.html "The family began moving from city to city on the whims and megrims of his father's employer." Rohinton Mistry; Tales from Firozsha Baag; Penguin Books; 1987. -------- Date: Tue Feb 16 00:01:03 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--posthumous X-Bonus: Politics, as a practice, whatever its professions, has always been the systematic organization of hatreds. -Henry Adams, historian and teacher (16 Feb 1838-1918) This week's theme: Words formed in error posthumous (POS-chuh-muhs) adjective Happening after someone's death, but relating to something done earlier. For example, a book published after the death of the author, a child born after the death of the father, an award given after the death of a person. [From Latin posthumus, alteration of postumus, superlative of posterus (coming after). The word literally means "subsequent" but since it was often used in contexts relating to someone's death, people began associating the word with humus (earth) or humare (to bury) and amended the spelling. Earliest documented use: 1608.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/posthumous "President Aquino has authorized the posthumous conferment of Medal of Valor to two SAF commandos who died during the Mamasapano mission." Pres. Aquino to Confer Posthumously Medal of Valor; Asia News Monitor (Bangkok, Thailand); Jan 26, 2016. -------- Date: Wed Feb 17 00:01:03 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--lutestring X-Bonus: A man is known by the company he keeps. A company is known by the men it keeps. -Thomas J. Watson, businessman (17 Feb 1874-1956) This week's theme: Words formed in error lutestring (LOOT-string) noun A glossy silk fabric. [This fabric has nothing to do with a lute string. The word is a corruption of French lustrine, from Italian lustrino, from Latin lustrare (to make bright). Ultimately from the Indo-European root leuk- (light), which also gave us lunar, lunatic, light, lightning, lucid, illuminate, illustrate, translucent, lux, lynx, pellucid https://wordsmith.org/words/pellucid.html , lucubrate https://wordsmith.org/words/lucubrate.html , limn https://wordsmith.org/words/limn.html , levin https://wordsmith.org/words/levin.html , and lea https://wordsmith.org/words/lea.html . Earliest documented use: 1661.] "Her modish Pomona green lutestring gown, which she'd thought so becoming earlier, now seemed a less than ideal choice." Heather Cullman; A Perfect Scoundrel; Signet; 2000. -------- Date: Thu Feb 18 00:01:03 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--messuage X-Bonus: What a strange machine man is! You fill him with bread, wine, fish, and radishes, and out come sighs, laughter, and dreams. -Nikos Kazantzakis, poet and novelist (18 Feb 1883-1957) This week's theme: Words formed in error messuage (MES-wij) noun A residential building with outbuildings and the attached land. [From the misreading of the letter n as u in Old French mesnage (household), from Latin manere (to remain, dwell). Ultimately from the Indo-European root men- (to remain), which also gave us manor, mansion, ménage, immanent, permanent, menagerie, menial, and remain. Earliest documented use: 1490.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/messuage "Can you tell me where I can find a messuage by the name of Neolithic Villa?" JRL Anderson; Redundancy Pay; Littlehampton Book Services; 1976. -------- Date: Fri Feb 19 00:01:03 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--frontispiece X-Bonus: There's nothing that makes you so aware of the improvisation of human existence as a song unfinished. Or an old address book. -Carson McCullers, writer (19 Feb 1917-1967) This week's theme: Words formed in error frontispiece (FRUN-ti-spees) noun 1. An illustration facing or preceding the title page of a book. 2. A facade, especially an ornamental facade, of a building. 3. An ornamental pediment over a door or window. [The word was formed by corruption of French frontispice by association with the word 'piece'. It's from Latin frontispicium (facade), from front- (front) + specere (to look). Ultimately from the Indo-European root spek- (to observe), which also gave us spy, spice, species, suspect, expect, spectrum, despise, despicable, bishop, telescope, specious, speciesism https://wordsmith.org/words/speciesism.html , soupcon https://wordsmith.org/words/soupcon.html , prospicient https://wordsmith.org/words/prospicient.html , perspicuous https://wordsmith.org/words/perspicuous.html , speculum https://wordsmith.org/words/speculum.html , omphaloskepsis https://wordsmith.org/words/omphaloskepsis.html , and conspectus https://wordsmith.org/words/conspectus.html . Earliest documented use: 1598.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/frontispiece Frontispiece in a book: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/frontispiece1_large.jpg Photo: Smithsonian Institution Libraries https://www.flickr.com/photos/smithsonianlibraries/4056219060 Frontispiece in a building: https://wordsmith.org/words/images/frontispiece2_large.jpg Photo: Gerard https://www.flickr.com/photos/30784372@N03/9404961791/ "I still have the physical copy, its frontispiece decorated with characters from the stories." Francine Prose & Ayana Mathis; Bookends; The New York Times Book Review; Oct 26, 2014. "An ornate frontispiece above the front door, shutters, and flower boxes add charm to the white painted brick facade." Lauren Beale; Eva Gabor's Onetime Estate in Holmby Hills is for Sale; Los Angeles Times; Oct 22, 2015. -------- Date: Mon Feb 22 00:01:06 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--piacular X-Bonus: The closing years of life are like the end of a masquerade party, when the masks are dropped. -Arthur Schopenhauer, philosopher (22 Feb 1788-1860) A language is a big box. It's filled with words to describe nearly everything its speakers need, with some left over. For this week's words, I closed my eyes, put my hand in the box, and picked five words. How many of them do you know? Well, after this week you can say you have five more in your wordbox than you had before. Little by little the ocean is filled. Fill your own. piacular (pie-AK-yuh-luhr) adjective Making or requiring atonement. [From Latin piare (to appease). Earliest documented use: 1606.] "The piacular sacrifice took place several days later." Colleen McCullough; Fortune's Favourites; William Morrow; 1993. -------- Date: Tue Feb 23 00:01:03 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--demotic X-Bonus: Leaving home in a sense involves a kind of second birth in which we give birth to ourselves. -Robert Neelly Bellah, sociologist and author (23 Feb 1927-2013) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words demotic (di-MOT-ik) adjective: Relating to common people; popular. noun: Modern Greek. [From Greek demos (people). Earliest documented use: 1782.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/demotic "I've often found myself wondering what Christopher Hitchens would say about this or that event in the news. What I wouldn't give to read him on ... the darkly demotic presidential campaign of Donald Trump." Damon Linker; Pleasures of Dispute; The New York Times; Jan 8, 2016. -------- Date: Wed Feb 24 00:01:02 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--parsimony X-Bonus: Come, live in my heart and pay no rent. -Samuel Lover, songwriter, composer, novelist, and artist (24 Feb 1797-1868) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words parsimony (PAR-si-mo-nee) noun Excessive frugality; stinginess. [From Latin parsimonia, from parcere (to spare). Earliest documented use: 1475.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/parsimony "In what is by now a grand American tradition, Thoreau justified his own parsimony by impugning the needy. 'Often the poor man is not so cold and hungry as he is dirty and ragged and gross. It is partly his taste, and not merely his misfortune. If you give him money, he will perhaps buy more rags with it.'" Kathryn Schulz; Pond Scum; The New Yorker; Oct 19, 2015. https://wordsmith.org/words/impugn.html -------- Date: Thu Feb 25 00:01:04 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--gaucherie X-Bonus: In the cellars of the night, when the mind starts moving around old trunks of bad times, the pain of this and the shame of that, the memory of a small boldness is a hand to hold. -John Leonard, critic (25 Feb 1939-2008) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words gaucherie (goh-shuh-REE) noun A lack of tact or grace; also an instance of this. [From French gauche (left, awkward), from gauchir (to turn). Earliest documented use: 1798.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/gaucherie "Also typical of modern Americans is Trump's bad taste. ... He puts his own individual stamp on gaucherie." PJ O'Rourke; Garish Tastes, Awful Hair; The Daily Beast (New York); Jun 16, 2015. -------- Date: Fri Feb 26 00:01:04 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--valence X-Bonus: The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved -- loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves. -Victor Hugo, novelist and dramatist (26 Feb 1802-1885) This week's theme: Miscellaneous words valence (VAY-luhns) noun 1. The combining capacity of an atom or a group of atoms to form molecules. 2. The capacity of someone or something to affect another. [From Latin valentia (power, worth, or strength), from valere (to be well or strong). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wal- (to be strong) that also gave us valiant, avail, valor, value, wieldy https://wordsmith.org/words/wieldy.html , countervail https://wordsmith.org/words/countervail.html , valetudinarian https://wordsmith.org/words/valetudinarian.html , and valorize https://wordsmith.org/words/valorize.html , Earliest documented use: 1425.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/valence "Bernie Sanders sought common ground by adding new valences to one or two of his standard arguments." Margaret Talbot; The Populist Prophet; The New Yorker; Oct 12, 2015. -------- Date: Mon Feb 29 00:01:03 EST 2016 Subject: A.Word.A.Day--personalty X-Bonus: Animals cannot speak, but can you and I not speak for them and represent them? Let us all feel their silent cry of agony and let us all help that cry to be heard in the world. -Rukmini Devi Arundale, dancer and choreographer (29 Feb 1904-1986) If you've ever felt exhausted after traveling, know that it's in the word itself. The word 'travel' is ultimately the same word as 'travail'. Imagine the era when travel time was measured in months; there were no in-boat movies during the trip, and no Holiday Inns waiting at the destination. That's if you reach the destination at all. Travel could be torture (travel/travail are from Latin trepaliare: to torture). Yet travel can be rewarding. It enriches us, broadening our outlook. Words also travel, hopping across continents, across languages, enriching our vocabulary. This week we'll see five words that have traveled far and wide to reach us. personalty (PUHR-suh-nuhl-tee) noun Personal property: movable property, as contrasted with real estate. [From Anglo-French personalté, from Latin personalitas, from persona (mask, person), from Etruscan phersu, from Greek prosopa (face, mask). Earliest documented use: 1528.] See usage examples in Vocabulary.com's dictionary: http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/personalty "If the trustee had done his duty there would have been no land, there would have been a fund of personalty." F.W. Maitland; Equity; Cambridge University Press; 2011.