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lymphatic: msg#00026culture.language.word-of-the-day
***************************************************************** Bee a winner with our Unabridged Dictionary-- the official reference of the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/book.pl?w3.htm&1 ***************************************************************** The Word of the Day for May 27 is: lymphatic \lim-FAT-ik\ adjective 1 a : of, relating to, or produced by lymph, lymphoid tissue, or lymphocytes b : conveying lymph *2 : lacking physical or mental energy : sluggish Example sentence: "Wrench had a wretched lymphatic wife who made a mummy of herself indoors in a large shawl...." (George Eliot, _Middlemarch_) Did you know? Lymph is a pale liquid in the body that helps maintain fluid balance and removes bacteria from tissues. Today, we understand that lymph plays an important role in the bodys immune system. In the past, however, it was commonly believed that an excess of lymph caused sluggishness -- hence the "sluggish" meaning of "lymphatic." The word "lymph" comes from Latin "lympha" ("water" or "water goddess"), which itself may be a modification of the Greek word "nymphe," meaning "nymph." Both "lymph" and its related adjective "lymphatic" have been used in English since the mid- 17th century. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. |
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