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A.Word.A.Day--pudency

Pronunciation RealAudio

pudency (PYOOD-n-see) noun

Modesty, bashfulness.

[From Late Latin pudentia, from pudent-, pudens, from pudere (to make or be ashamed).]

If today's word bears a resemblance to the word for female private parts, it's because there is a link. Both sprout from Latin pudere (to be ashamed). Impudent is another word originating from the same source.

"'The most important thing is the ship, and the ship needed someone at the helm who knew better about the operational aspects of getting a business to grow than me,' says Fields with typical pudency."
Melanie Warner; The New Black Power; Fortune (New York); Aug 4, 1997.

"The art of life has a pudency, and will not be exposed. Every man is an impossibility, until he is born; every thing impossible, until we see a success."
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882); Experience.

This week's theme: Miscellaneous words

X-Bonus

God could not be everywhere, and therefore he created mothers. -Jewish proverb

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