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May 7, 2019
This week’s theme
Words from singer-songwriter Roy Zimmerman’s songs

This week’s words
legionnaire
moribund
carny
nanny state
inveigle

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

moribund

PRONUNCIATION:
(MOR-uh-buhnd)

MEANING:
adjective:
1. Nearing death.
2. Stagnant; lacking vigor or vitality.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin moribundus (dying), from mori (to die). Ultimately from the Indo-European root mer- (to rub away or to harm), which also gave us morse, mordant, amaranth, morbid, mortal, mortgage, nightmare, premorse, morbidezza, ambrosia, and amaranthine. Earliest documented use: 1721.

USAGE:
“But even as all things are dying, one event can steer
The moribund toward more abundant cheer.”
Roy Zimmerman; Christma-Hanu-Rama-Ka-Dona-Kwanzaa; 2006.
(lyrics; video, 2.5 min)

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

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
When old words die out on the tongue, new melodies break forth from the heart; and where the old tracks are lost, new country is revealed with its wonders. -Rabindranath Tagore, poet, philosopher, author, songwriter, painter, educator, composer, Nobel laureate (7 May 1861-1941)

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