belated

****************************************************************
Do you enjoy challenging word games? Try WORD SWEEP!, the new board game 
featuring official Merriam-Webster definitions!
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780971348769&itm=2
****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for December 25 is: 

belated   \bih-LAY-tud\   adjective 
     1 : delayed beyond the usual time  
    *2 : existing or appearing past the normal or proper time 

Example sentence:
     Susan called Jim on Christmas and told him he'd be receiving a belated 
gift from her.

Did you know?
     Long ago, there was a verb "belate," which meant "to make late." From the 
beginning, "belate" tended to mostly turn up in the form of its past participle 
"belated." Eventually, "belate" itself fell out of use, leaving behind 
"belated" as an adjective that preserved the original notion of delay. As you 
may have guessed, "belate" and its descendant "belated" derive from the 
adjective "late"; "belate" was formed by simply combining the prefix "be-" ("to 
cause to be") with "late."

*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