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haptic: msg#00020

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Subject: haptic

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The Word of the Day for March 21 is:

haptic \HAP-tik\ adjective
*1 : relating to or based on the sense of touch
2 : characterized by a predilection for the sense of touch

Example sentence:
Mark could tell the different kinds of yarn apart purely
by haptic clues.

Did you know?
"Haptic" (from the Greek "haptesthai," meaning "to touch")
entered English in the late 19th century as a medical synonym
for "tactile." By the 1950s it had developed a psychological
sense, describing individuals whose perception supposedly
depended primarily on touch rather than sight. Although no one
today divides humans into "haptic" and "visual" personalities,
English retains the broadened psychological sense of "haptic"
as well as the older "tactile" sense.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.







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