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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

mollycoddle
Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:15:01 -0500
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 22, 2009 is: mollycoddle • \MAH-lee-kah-dul\  • verb : to treat with an excessive or absurd degree of indulgence or attention Example sentence: Parents of other players complained that the coach was unfairly mollycoddling the team's star pitcher. Did you know? Coddling eggs is delicate business. You need to cook them slowly and gently, keeping the water just below boiling. Given how carefully you need to treat the eggs, it's not surprising that “coddle,” the name for the cooking process, developed the figurative sense “to pamper.” “Mollycoddle” was formed by combining “coddle” with “molly,” a nickname for Mary. In its earliest known uses in the 1830s, “mollycoddle” was a noun, a synonym of our modern “wimp,” but within 30 years it was being used as the verb you're likely to encounter now.
pittance
Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:15:01 -0500
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 21, 2009 is: pittance • \PIT-unss\  • noun : a small portion, amount, or allowance; also : a meager wage or remuneration Example sentence: The children worked for a pittance at the factory in subhuman conditions. Did you know? It's a pity when you haven't anything but a pittance. And in fact, "pity" and "pittance" share etymological roots. The Middle English word "pittance" came from Anglo-French "pitance," meaning "pity" or "piety." Originally, a "pittance" was a gift or bequest to a religious community, or a small charitable gift. Ultimately, the word comes from the Latin "pietas," meaning "piety" or "compassion." Our words "pity" and "piety" come from "pietas" as well.
galvanize
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:15:01 -0500
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 20, 2009 is: galvanize • \GAL-vuh-nyze\  • verb 1 : to stimulate with an electric current *2 : to excite or be excited as if by an electric shock 3 : to coat (iron or steel) with zinc; especially : to immerse in molten zinc to produce a coating of zinc-iron alloy Example sentence: “The Russians launched a satellite into space, and the sudden realization that we were falling behind galvanized Americans into action.” -- Bill Powell, Newsweek, October 9, 1989 Did you know? Luigi Galvani was an Italian physician and physicist who, in the 1770s, studied the electrical nature of nerve impulses by applying electrical stimulation to frogs’ leg muscles, causing them to contract. Although Galvani’s theory that animal tissue contained an innate electrical impulse was disproven, the Italian word "galvanismo" came to describe a current of electricity especially when produced by chemical action. English speakers borrowed the word as "galvanism" in 1797; the verb "galvanize" was introduced in 1802. Charlotte Brontë, in 1853, used the verb figuratively in her novel Villette: "Her approach always galvanized him to new and spasmodic life." These days, "galvanize" also means to cover metal with zinc or a zinc alloy to protect from rust (as in galvanized carpentry nails). *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
anachronism
Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:15:01 -0500
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 19, 2009 is: anachronism • \uh-NAK-ruh-niz-um\  • noun 1 : an error in chronology; especially : a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other *2 : a person or a thing that is chronologically out of place; especially : one from a former age that is incongruous in the present Example sentence: Manual typewriters and slide rules are often regarded as anachronisms in this age of computers and calculators. Did you know? An anachronism is something that is out of place in terms of time or chronology. The word derives from "chronos," the Greek word for "time," and "ana-," a Greek prefix meaning "up," "back," or "again." When it was first used in English in the 17th century, "anachronism" referred to an error in the dating of something (as, for example, in etymology, when a word or use is mistakenly assumed to have arisen earlier than it did). Anachronisms were sometimes distinguished from para Subscribe to Dictionaries RSS feed

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