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propinquity: msg#00008

culture.language.word-of-the-day

Subject: propinquity

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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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