roustabout

****************************************************************
Attention word gurus:  try WORD SWEEP!, the first board game to feature 
Merriam-Webster definitions! Available at Borders Bookstores.
http://www.wordsweep.com
****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for May 11 is:

roustabout   \ROWSS-tuh-bowt\   noun
     1 a : deckhand b : longshoreman
     2 : an unskilled or semiskilled laborer especially in an oil field or 
refinery
    *3 : a circus worker who erects and dismantles tents, cares for the 
grounds, and handles animals and equipment

Example sentence:
     The arrival of the circus was marked by the shouts of roustabouts hauling 
canvas and erecting huge tent poles.

Did you know?
     Circus roustabouts are most commonly associated with circus animals, of 
course, but they also have a connection with game birds, at least in terms of 
etymology. "Roustabout" comes from "roust," which is an alteration of "rouse," 
a verb from Middle English that originally meant "to shake the feathers" (as in 
the way a bird might ruffle its feathers or shake its plumage when it is 
settling down or grooming itself). "Rouse," which today is a synonym of 
"awaken," also formerly meant "to cause to break from cover," a sense that may 
have influenced the modern meaning of "roust": "to drive (as from bed) roughly 
or unceremoniously." 

*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://mw.drhinternet.net/sm/wod/changeofaddress.iphtml

(c) 2007 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

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