vertiginous

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The Word of the Day for December 27 is: 

vertiginous   \ver-TIJ-uh-nus\   adjective
     1 a : characterized by or suffering from vertigo or dizziness b : inclined 
to frequent and often pointless change : inconstant
    *2 : causing or tending to cause dizziness
     3 : marked by turning : rotary

Example sentence:
     In Moscow, we saw "Swan Lake" from the vertiginous perspective of the 
Bolshoi Theatre's uppermost balcony.

Did you know?
     "It is generally necessary to avoid crowded rooms and the vertiginous 
influence of the dance," one 19th-century medical work advised. We're not sure 
what condition this advice was aimed at, but it may well have been "vertigo," a 
disordered state characterized by whirling dizziness. "Vertiginous," from the 
Latin "vertiginosus," is the adjective form of "vertigo," which in Latin means 
"a turning or whirling action." Both words descend from the Latin verb 
"vertere," meaning "to turn." ("Vertiginous" and "vertigo" are just two of an 
almost dizzying array of "vertere" offspring, from "adverse" to "vortex.") The 
"dizzying" sense of "vertiginous" is often used figuratively, as in 
"vertiginous medical discoveries may drastically change life in the 21st 
century."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. 





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