vendetta

****************************************************************
Word game lovers! Enjoy a free trial subscription to 
Merriam-Webster Unabridged and try our new brainteasers!
http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/unabridged_sub.pl?refr=U_wod
****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for May 2 is:

vendetta   \ven-DET-uh\   noun
     1 : a feud between different clans or families : blood feud 
    *2 : an often prolonged series of retaliatory, vengeful, or hostile acts or 
exchange of such acts

Example sentence:
     From the day the ants swarmed over Gram's apple pie in her own kitchen, 
their eradication took the form of a personal vendetta -- she vowed to 
exterminate them at any cost.

Did you know?
     "Vendetta" has been getting even in English since the mid-19th century. 
English speakers borrowed "vendetta," spelling and all, from Italian, in which 
it means "revenge." It ultimately traces to the Latin verb "vindicare," which 
means "to lay claim to" or "to avenge." That Latin word is also in the family 
tree of many other English terms related to getting even, including "avenge," 
"revenge," "vengeance," 
"vindicate," and "vindictive."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.





You Are Subscribed As: GCLW-MW-WOD7@xxxxxxxxx
To unsubscribe, change your e-mail address or to subscribe to the html
version of Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day, featuring audio
pronunciations, please visit:

http://www.startsampling.com/sm/wod/changeofaddress.iphtml

(c) 2006 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

Merriam-Webster, Inc.
47 Federal Street
P.O. Box 281
Springfield, MA 01102

*mf mwt 050206 GCLW-MW-WOD7@xxxxxxxxx mf*

---
You are currently subscribed to mw-text as: GCLW-MW-WOD7@xxxxxxxxx
To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
leave-mw-text-979910Y@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx