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propinquity: msg#00008culture.language.word-of-the-day
***************************************************************** Put the whole realm of human knowledge on Dad's desktop with Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Encyclopedia. http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/book.pl?collency.htm&9 ***************************************************************** The Word of the Day for June 9 is: propinquity \pruh-PING-kwuh-tee\ noun 1 : nearness of blood : kinship *2 : nearness in place or time : proximity Example sentence: Jane said, "If it hadn't been for the library's propinquity to my family's home, I might not have become the avid reader I am today." Did you know? "Propinquity" and its cousin "proximity" are related through the Latin root "prope," which means "near." That root gave rise to "proximus" (the parent of "proximity") and "propinquus" (an ancestor of "propinquity"). "Proximus" is the superlative of "prope" and thus means "nearest," whereas "propinquus" simply means "near" or "akin," but in English "propinquity" conveys a stronger sense of closeness than "proximity." (The latter usually suggests a sense of being in the vicinity of something.) The distinctions between the two words are subtle, however, and they are often used interchangeably. "Propinquity" is believed to be the older of the two words, first appearing in English in the 14th century; "proximity" followed a century later. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. |
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