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Jun 9, 2025
This week’s themeKings who became words This week’s words 
Nero sculpture in his birthplace of Anzio, Italy
Sculptor: Claudio Valenti Photo: Helen Cook / Wikimedia Previous week’s theme Words with movie connections 
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu GargI once had a Canadian friend who was a major Anglophile. Big fan of the monarchy. Fine by me. Some people collect stamps, others collect tiaras (vicariously). When a son was born to William and Kate in 2013, my friend emailed me, brimming with excitement over the arrival of, I quote, “HRH Prince George”. The little fellow was barely 48 hours old and he was already a His Royal Highness? All he had to do was show up in the right womb? I’d rather reserve that level of reverence for folks who, say, invent vaccines, compose symphonies, or revolutionize the world with poems or books. Still, I did the polite thing. I congratulated her... and added, “Lizzie must be thrilled about her new great grandson.” (There went my knighthood.) She was not amused. I asked her how she’d feel if the next mayor of her small town were simply the child of the current one. And their child after that. She changed the subject. To each her own. If someone wants to call Paris Hilton HRH, or refer to Kal-El as Superman, well, it’s a free world. (Though most of us retire the crown and scepter after preschool.) Kings, queens, dukes, duchesses, it’s a charming idea from another century. Way past its time. Sure, democracy has its flaws. Sometimes people make a dreadful choice. But the beautiful thing is, they can fix it in the next election. (And yes, sometimes they make the same dreadful choice again. What can I say, people have short memories.) But at least they are not stuck with the same family forever. Or, stripping them from actual power, while supporting them in the lifestyle of the rich and famous. While most monarchs fade into footnotes, a few live on in the dictionary. This week we’ll meet five kings whose names have become words in the language. What’s your take on royalty? Share below or email us at words@wordsmith.org. Include your location (city, state). Nero
PRONUNCIATION:
(NEE-ro)
MEANING:
noun: A cruel, depraved, or tyrannical ruler.
ETYMOLOGY:
After Nero (CE 37-68), Roman emperor (54-68), whose name became
synonymous with tyranny. Earliest documented use: 1542.
NOTES:
Nero is infamous for his cruelty, excesses, and theatrical
self-indulgence. He ordered the deaths of his own mother and at least
one of his wives. After being declared a public enemy by the Roman Senate
and condemned to death in absentia having fled, he killed himself. As for
the story that he fiddled while Rome burned, that’s likely a myth.
USAGE:
“Planet Earth is burning and -- to the discerning young eyes from Sweden
to Spain -- the Neros of the world are playing the fiddle. Recent
climate disasters bear this out.” Use It or Lose It; New Straits Times (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia); Dec 9, 2019: See more usage examples of Nero in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Ethics, decency, and morality are the real soldiers. -Kiran Bedi, police
officer and social activist (b. 9 Jun 1949)
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