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Jun 28, 2013
This week's theme
Word coined from animals

This week's words
fishwife
skunky
gossamer
birdlime
chameleonic

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Words to describe people
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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

chameleonic

PRONUNCIATION:
(kuh-mee-lee-ON-ik)

MEANING:
adjective: Given to quick or frequent change.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin chamaeleon, from Greek khamaileon, from khamai (on the ground) + leon (lion). Ultimately from the Indo-European root dhghem- (earth), which also sprouted human, homicide, humble, homage, chamomile, chthonic, disinter, inhume, exhume, and Persian zamindar (landholder). Earliest documented use: 1821.

USAGE:
"Bonnie McKee's chameleonic hair color mirrors her divergent writing styles."
Shirley Halperin & Bob Love; Pop's Top 35 Hitmakers; Hollywood Reporter; Feb 15, 2013.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
We do not err because truth is difficult to see. It is visible at a glance. We err because this is more comfortable. -Alexander Solzhenitsyn, novelist, Nobel laureate (1918-2008)

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