guerdon

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The Word of the Day for November 3 is: 

guerdon   \GUR-dun\   noun
          : reward, recompense

Example sentence:
          “This early promotion … was his guerdon for a quarter of a century of 
getting things done.” (Herman Wouk, _The Winds of War_)

Did you know?
          “Guerdon” dates back to the 14th century, when Geoffrey Chaucer used 
it in _The Romaunt of the Rose_ (ca. 1366): “He quitte him wel his guerdon 
there.” It derives from Anglo-French and is thought to be related to the Old 
High German “widarlon,” meaning “reward.” Shakespeare used “guerdon” a couple 
of times in his plays. In _Love’s Labour’s Lost_, for example, Berowne, 
attendant to King Ferdinand, sends the clown Costard to deliver a letter to 
Rosaline, attendant to the princess of France, handing him a shilling with the 
line, “There’s thy guerdon; go.” “Guerdon” is a rare word today, but 
contemporary writers do use it on occasion for poetic effect.





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