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hackneyed: msg#00010culture.language.word-of-the-day
***************************************************************** It's May! Or is it "might"? Settle the dispute with our Concise Dictionary of English Usage. http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/book.pl?conusg.htm&6 ***************************************************************** The Word of the Day for May 11 is: hackneyed \HAK-need\ adjective : lacking in freshness or originality Example sentence: Frank's early attempts at poetry were filled with singsong rhymes and hackneyed expressions. Did you know? "Hackney" entered the English language in the 14th century as a noun. Some think perhaps it came from "Hakeneye" (now "Hackney"), the name of a town (now a borough) in England. Others dispute this explanation, pointing to similar forms in other European languages. The noun "hackney," in any case, refers to a horse suitable for ordinary riding or driving -- as opposed to one used as a draft animal or a war charger. When "hackney" was first used as a verb in the late 16th century, it often meant "to make common or frequent use of." Later, it meant "to make trite, vulgar, or commonplace." The adjective "hackneyed" began to be used in the 18th century and now is a common synonym for "trite." |
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