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hackneyed: msg#00010

culture.language.word-of-the-day

Subject: hackneyed

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It's May! Or is it "might"? Settle the dispute with our
Concise Dictionary of English Usage.
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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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