WORD OF THE DAY
eventuate / verb / ih-VEN-chuh-wayt
Definition
1: to come out finally
2: result, come about
Examples
The accident eventuated from a cascade of mistakes that could easily have been prevented with better operator training.
"Charles Dickens is at his best when he compares events in London and Paris during a period of revolution. While the historian may help us to understand the social context that eventuates in a revolution, it is a novel that shows the personal tragedies that come from the breakdown of social order."
— Allan Powell, The Herald-Mail (Hagerstown, Maryland), 7 Apr. 2016
Did You Know?
Eventuate started life as an Americanism in the late 18th century, and was stigmatized in the 19th century. One British commentator called it "another horrible word, which is fast getting into our language through the provincial press."
Other British grammarians, and even some Americans, agreed that it was horrible. Eventuate is less controversial these days, though its use is still regarded by the occasional critic as pompous, ponderous, and unnecessary. In any case, eventuate has a perfectly respectable history.
It is derived from the Latin noun eventus ("event"), which in turn traces to the verb evenire, meaning "to happen."
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