neoteric

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The Word of the Day for January 15 is: 

neoteric   \nee-uh-TAIR-ik\   adjective
          : recent in origin : modern 

Example sentence:
          The gallery eschews traditional works of art in favor of more 
neoteric pieces, such as electric light installations and computer graphic 
displays.

Did you know?
          An odd thing about "neoteric" is that this word for things that are 
modern and new is itself rather old. It's been part of English since at least 
1596, and its roots go back even further -- to ancient Greek. We adapted the 
word from Late Latin "neotericus," which also means "recent." "Neotericus" in 
turn comes from Late Greek "neoterikos" and ultimately from Greek "neos," 
meaning "new" or "young." As old as its roots are, however, "neoteric" itself 
entered English later than its synonyms "modern" (which appeared earlier in the 
16th century) and "newfangled" (which has been with us since the 15th century).





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