A.Word.A.Day --Yoda

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May 1, 2023

This week’s theme
Words from Star Wars

This week’s words
Yoda
droid
Jedi
Padawan
dark side

Image: Lucasfilm

Previous week’s theme
Homophones

A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ... Ok, well, not that long ago, 46 years to be precise -- half in this century, half in the previous one -- in our own galaxy, the first Star Wars film was released.

One way to gauge the cultural influence of a book, film, invention, anything, is to see how many words it has added to the language. For example, dozens of characters from Charles Dickens have become part of the English language. Star Wars has also added to our lexicon.

In the film, Jedi masters wish luck with: “May the Force be with you.” It was not long after the movie’s release that the pun “May the Fourth be with you” was born and ever since Star Wars fans use it to greet each other on what’s now known as the Star Wars Day, May 4th.

This week we’ll feature five words either coined after characters in Star Wars or popularized by the series.

Are you a Star Wars fan? Maybe you have a full-size replica of R2D2 in your living room. Maybe you have to google to find out who R2D2 was. How about science fiction, in general? Share below or email us at words@wordsmith.org. Include your location: city, state, and galaxy.

Yoda

PRONUNCIATION:

(YO-duh)

MEANING:

noun: A wise mentor, adviser, guru, etc.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Yoda, a mentor in the Star Wars universe, first appeared in film The Empire Strikes Back, 1980. Earliest documented (non-literal) use: 1984. Also see anastrophe.

USAGE:

“Mimi was my personal Yoda of dieting wisdom. She’d once lost a ton of weight to get her first job in television, and she was always updating me with her latest tips and tricks for staying fit.”
Kathryn Lilley; A Killer Workout; Obsidian; 2008.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

I live in the world rather as a spectator of mankind than as one of the species. -Joseph Addison, essayist and poet (1 May 1672-1719)

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