WORD OF THE DAY
agita \ AJ-uh-tuh \ nound
Definition
: a feeling of agitation or anxiety
Examples
"Home-sharing through websites has meant more lodging choices for visitors to Massachusetts. But it's also become a source of considerable agita on Beacon Hill: How to tax and regulate this sudden behemoth?"
— The Boston Globe, 18 June 2017
"According to an American Psychological Association (APA) report, 43 percent of women say they're more stressed out than they were five years…. Women under age 33 report the highest levels of agita of any generation, with those 33 to 46 close behind."
— Shaun Dreisbach, Glamour, April 2016
Did You Know?
Judging by its spelling and meaning, you might think that agita is simply a shortened version of agitation, but that's not the case. Both agitation and the verb it comes form, agitate, derive from Latin agere, meaning "to drive."
Agita, which first appeared in American English in the mid-late 20th century, comes from a dialectical pronunciation of the Italian word acido, meaning "heartburn" or "acid," from Latin acidus. (Agita is also occasionally used in English with the meaning "heartburn.")
For a while the word's usage was limited to New York City and surrounding regions, but the word became more widespread in the mid-1990s.
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Salubrious
WORD OF THE DAY
salubrious \ suh-LOO-bree-us \ adjective
Definition
: favorable to or promoting health or well-being
Examples
The hot springs are popular both for relaxation and for their reported salubrious effect.
"There are many reasons why soup so often hits the spot. Certainly, it's got salubrious effects—with chicken soup topping the cure-all list."
— Ligaya Figueras, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 24 Feb. 2017
Did You Know?
Salubrious and its synonyms healthful and wholesome all mean favorable to the health of mind or body. Healthful implies a positive contribution to a healthy condition (as in Charles Dickens' advice to "take more healthful exercise").
Wholesome applies to something that benefits you, builds you up, or sustains you physically, mentally, or spiritually. Louisa May Alcott used this sense in Little Women: "Work is wholesome.... It keeps us from ennui and mischief, is good for health and spirits, and gives us a sense of power and independence...."
Salubrious is used similarly to both words but tends to apply chiefly to the helpful effects of climate or air.
salubrious \ suh-LOO-bree-us \ adjective
Definition
: favorable to or promoting health or well-being
Examples
The hot springs are popular both for relaxation and for their reported salubrious effect.
"There are many reasons why soup so often hits the spot. Certainly, it's got salubrious effects—with chicken soup topping the cure-all list."
— Ligaya Figueras, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 24 Feb. 2017
Did You Know?
Salubrious and its synonyms healthful and wholesome all mean favorable to the health of mind or body. Healthful implies a positive contribution to a healthy condition (as in Charles Dickens' advice to "take more healthful exercise").
Wholesome applies to something that benefits you, builds you up, or sustains you physically, mentally, or spiritually. Louisa May Alcott used this sense in Little Women: "Work is wholesome.... It keeps us from ennui and mischief, is good for health and spirits, and gives us a sense of power and independence...."
Salubrious is used similarly to both words but tends to apply chiefly to the helpful effects of climate or air.
Monday, October 2, 2017
Farceur
WORD OF THE DAY
farceur \ fahr-SER \ noun
Definition
1: joker, wag
2: a writer or actor of farce or satire
Examples
Grace's class presentation went very well, but she could have done without the snide remarks from the farceurs at the back of the room.
"Jerry Lewis didn't just play a nutty professor. For years he reigned as a mad comic scientist of the screen—a brash innovator who exploded conventions and expectations on either side of the camera, and a take-no-prisoners farceur who mixed slapstick antics with a seething man-child persona of his own making."
— Justin Chang, The Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2017
Did You Know?
You've probably already spotted the "farce" in farceur. But although farceur can now refer to someone who performs or composes farce, it began life as a word for someone who is simply known for cracking jokes.
Appropriately, farceur derives via Modern French from the Middle French farcer, meaning "to joke."
If you think of farce as a composition of ridiculous humor with a "stuffed" or contrived plot, then it should not surprise you that farce originally meant "forcemeat"—seasoned meat used for a stuffing—and that both farce and farceur can be ultimately traced back to the Latin verb farcire, meaning "to stuff."
farceur \ fahr-SER \ noun
Definition
1: joker, wag
2: a writer or actor of farce or satire
Examples
Grace's class presentation went very well, but she could have done without the snide remarks from the farceurs at the back of the room.
"Jerry Lewis didn't just play a nutty professor. For years he reigned as a mad comic scientist of the screen—a brash innovator who exploded conventions and expectations on either side of the camera, and a take-no-prisoners farceur who mixed slapstick antics with a seething man-child persona of his own making."
— Justin Chang, The Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2017
Did You Know?
You've probably already spotted the "farce" in farceur. But although farceur can now refer to someone who performs or composes farce, it began life as a word for someone who is simply known for cracking jokes.
Appropriately, farceur derives via Modern French from the Middle French farcer, meaning "to joke."
If you think of farce as a composition of ridiculous humor with a "stuffed" or contrived plot, then it should not surprise you that farce originally meant "forcemeat"—seasoned meat used for a stuffing—and that both farce and farceur can be ultimately traced back to the Latin verb farcire, meaning "to stuff."
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