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predilection: msg#00001

culture.language.word-of-the-day

Subject: predilection

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The Word of the Day for September 2 is:

predilection \preh-duh-LEK-shun\ noun
: an established preference for something

Example sentence:
Though Bella lived in the mountains she was partial to the
sea, a predilection that led her to spend two weeks each
September at a small cottage on the shore.

Did you know?
Do you have a predilection for words whose histories
conjure up colorful images of Wild West heroes, medieval knaves,
Arabian princes, and intemperate gods, or are words with
straightforward Latin roots more your style? If you favor the
latter, you'll love "predilection." It comes to us through
French, but it's based on the combination of the Latin "prae-"
and "diligere" (meaning "to love"). Together they
form "praediligere," a Latin verb meaning "to love more" or "to
prefer." "Diligere" is also the root of English "diligent" and
is based on the Latin verb "legere," which means "to gather"
or "to read." That versatile root is itself the source of many
other familiar English words, including "legend," "collect,"
"lesson," "sacrilege," and "legume."





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