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orotund: msg#00001

culture.language.word-of-the-day

Subject: orotund

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The Word of the Day for September 2 is:

orotund \OR-uh-tund\ adjective
1 : marked by fullness, strength, and clarity of sound : sonorous
*2 : pompous, bombastic

Example sentence:
Josh cleared his throat dramatically, then did a dead-on impression of the
professor's orotund, patronizing speech.

Did you know?
The Latin roots of "orotund" are related to two more common English words
-- "oral" and "rotund." Latin "or-" means "mouth," and "rotundus" means "round"
or "circular." The Roman poet Horace joined forms of those Latin terms to
create the phrase "ore rotundo," literally meaning "with round mouth," and
figuratively meaning "with well-turned speech." "Ore rotundo" was modified to
"orotund" and adopted into English in the late 18th century. It can indicate
either strength of delivery or inflated wording.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.





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