kaput

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The Word of the Day for August 13 is:

kaput   \kuh-PUT\   adjective 
     1 : utterly finished, defeated, or destroyed 
    *2 : unable to function : useless 
     3 : hopelessly outmoded 

Example sentence: 
     Sylvia knew her DVD player was really kaput when she 
noticed the smell of something burning toward the back of it.

Did you know? 
     "Kaput" originated with a card game called piquet that has 
been popular in France for centuries. French players originally 
used the term "capot" to describe both big winners and big 
losers. To win all twelve tricks in a hand was called "faire 
capot" ("to make capot"), but to lose them all was known 
as "etre capot" ("to be capot"). German speakers 
adopted "capot," but respelled it "kaputt," and used it only for 
losers. When English speakers borrowed the word from German, 
they started using "kaput" for things that were broken, useless, 
or destroyed. 

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.