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Oct 4, 2024
This week’s theme
Words differing by a letter

This week’s words
androgenic
ideophone
idiophone
thanatopsis
thanatosis

thanatosis
Burmeister’s leaf frog exhibiting thanatosis
Bahia, Brazil
Photo: Popovkin / Wikimedia

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

thanatosis

PRONUNCIATION:
(than-uh-TOH-suhs)

MEANING:
noun: The act of pretending to be dead, often as a defensive tactic against predators or enemies.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Greek thanatos (death). Earliest documented use: 1860.

NOTES:
In the wild, thanatosis is nature’s ultimate bluff as a survival strategy. In response to danger, some animals enter a state of immobility, mimicking death in a bid to evade predators who prefer a live prey. This behavior is also called apparent death or more colloquially, playing possum.

USAGE:
“In response to a second shrill blast, the dissidents collapsed and feigned thanatosis.”
Wilyem Clark; Edgewise; 2011.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
He serves his party best who serves the country best. -Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th US president (4 Oct 1822-1893)

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