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quotidian: msg#00026culture.language.word-of-the-day
**************************************************************** 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 January 27 is: quotidian \ kwoh-TID-ee-un\ adjective 1 : occurring every day *2 : belonging to each day : everyday 3 : commonplace, ordinary Example sentence: As an employee, Fiona is gifted at solving the difficult problems that arise from time to time, but she is often careless about the quotidian responsibilities of her job. Did you know? In Shakespeare's play _As You Like It_, the character Rosalind observes that Orlando, who has been running about in the woods carving her name on trees and hanging love poems on branches, "seems to have the quotidian of love upon him." Shakespeare's use doesn't make it clear that "quotidian" derives from a Latin word that means "every day." But as odd as it may seem, Shakespeare's use of "quotidian" is just a short semantic step away from the "daily" adjective sense. Some fevers occur intermittently -- sometimes daily. The phrase "quotidian fever" and the noun "quotidian" have long been used for such recurring maladies. Poor Orlando is simply afflicted with such a "fever" of love. *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) 2007 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated Merriam-Webster, Inc. 47 Federal Street P.O. Box 281 Springfield, MA 01102 |
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