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trepid: msg#00029culture.language.word-of-the-day
***************************************************************** Discover the people and events that made history ON THIS DAY. Sign up for the free daily newsletter from Britannica. http://register.britannica.com/mailinglist ***************************************************************** The Word of the Day for October 31 is: trepid \TREP-id\ adjective : timorous, fearful Example sentence: After dark, the less trepid among us would venture as far as the front porch of the empty house, where the smallest creak would send us screaming. Did you know? Don't be afraid to use "trepid." After all, it has been in the English language over 350 years -- longer, by 30 years, than its antonym "intrepid." "Trepid" (from Latin "trepidus," meaning "alarmed" or "agitiated") isn't used as much as "intrepid," but it can be a good word at times. Bill Kaufman, for example, found a use for it in a May 7, 2000 _Newsday_ article, in which an aquarium volunteer is "asked if she is perhaps a little trepid about swimming with sharks in a 12-foot deep, 120,000 gallon tank." (Her fearless reply: "Not really.") The more intrepid among you might even consider using "trepidate" for "to tremble with fear" and "trepidant," meaning "timid, trembling." These are uncommon words, granted, but they haven't breathed their last. |
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