rendition

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The Word of the Day for May 15 is: 

rendition   \ren-DISH-un\   noun
     1 : surrender 
     2 : translation 
    *3 : performance, interpretation 

Example sentence:
     Early in her career, the singer starred in a stunning rendition of 
Wagner's opera _Tristan und Isolde_.

Did you know?
     "Rendition" entered English in the early 17th century and can be traced to 
the Middle French word "reddition? and ultimately to the Latin verb "reddere," 
meaning "to return." The English verb "render" is another descendant of 
"reddere," so perhaps it is no surprise that "rendition" fundamentally means 
"the act or result of rendering." English speakers also once adopted 
"reddition" itself (meaning either "restitution, surrender" or "elucidation"), 
but that word has mostly dropped out of use. Incidentally, if you've guessed 
that "surrender" is also from the same word family, you may be right; 
"surrender" derives in part from the Anglo-French "rendre," which likely 
influenced the alteration of "reddition" to "rendition."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. 





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