WORD OF THE DAY
fidelity \ fuh-DELL-uh-tee \ noun
Definition
1 : the quality or state of being faithful
2a: accuracy in details
2b: exactness
3 : the degree to which an electronic device (such as a record player, radio, or television) accurately reproduces its effect (such as sound or picture)
Examples
"Fidelity to promises is a civic virtue at least dating back to ancient Greek and Roman ethics, and probably to the origins of society.… The idea that promises ought to be kept is one of our most intuitive and widely shared moral beliefs."
— Khristy Wilkinson, The Chattanooga (Tennessee) Times Free Press, 29 Apr. 2017
"Perhaps some of you will recall that I didn't like Riverdale's pilot episode. Sometimes it's good to be proven wrong…. Perhaps fully suspending any sense of fidelity to the original comics allowed my opinion on the show to change."
— Deborah Krieger, Pop Matters, 15 May 2017
Did You Know?
You can have faith in fidelity, which has existed in English since the 15th century; its etymological path winds back through Middle English and Middle French, eventually arriving at the Latin verb fidere, meaning "to trust."
Fidere is also an ancestor of other English words associated with trust or faith, such as fiduciary (which means "of, relating to, or involving a confidence or trust" and is often used in the context of a monetary trust) and confide (meaning "to trust" or "to show trust by imparting secrets").
Nowadays fidelity is often used in reference to recording and broadcast devices, conveying the idea that a broadcast or recording is "faithful" to the live sound or picture that it reproduces.
Friday, June 30, 2017
Thursday, June 29, 2017
Culminate
WORD OF THE DAY
culminate \ KUL-muh-nayt \ verb
Definition
1a: (of a celestial body) to reach its highest altitude; also
1b: to be directly overhead
2: to rise to or form a summit
3: to reach the highest or a climactic or decisive point
Examples
"My son and I are very interested in science and discovery. We were privileged to hear a distinguished physicist describe his research in magnetic wave phenomenon…. His complex findings present all matter as series of circular waves culminating in one large magnetic center which connects the universe."
— Louise Bostic, The Daily Star (Hammond, Louisiana), 21 Apr. 2016
"Unfortunately, segments of its plot lacked creativity and purpose, ultimately culminating in a mediocre final product."
— Nick Gavio, The Georgetown Voice (Georgetown University), 5 June 2017
Did You Know?
Culminate was first used in English in the 17th century in the field of astronomy. When a star or other heavenly body culminates, it reaches the point at which it is highest above the horizon from the vantage point of an observer on the ground.
The word derives from the past participle of the Medieval Latin verb culminare, meaning "to crown," and ultimately from the Latin noun culmen, meaning "top." As something culminates it rises toward a peak. These days the word is most familiar to English speakers in its figurative usage meaning "to reach a climactic or decisive point."
culminate \ KUL-muh-nayt \ verb
Definition
1a: (of a celestial body) to reach its highest altitude; also
1b: to be directly overhead
2: to rise to or form a summit
3: to reach the highest or a climactic or decisive point
Examples
"My son and I are very interested in science and discovery. We were privileged to hear a distinguished physicist describe his research in magnetic wave phenomenon…. His complex findings present all matter as series of circular waves culminating in one large magnetic center which connects the universe."
— Louise Bostic, The Daily Star (Hammond, Louisiana), 21 Apr. 2016
"Unfortunately, segments of its plot lacked creativity and purpose, ultimately culminating in a mediocre final product."
— Nick Gavio, The Georgetown Voice (Georgetown University), 5 June 2017
Did You Know?
Culminate was first used in English in the 17th century in the field of astronomy. When a star or other heavenly body culminates, it reaches the point at which it is highest above the horizon from the vantage point of an observer on the ground.
The word derives from the past participle of the Medieval Latin verb culminare, meaning "to crown," and ultimately from the Latin noun culmen, meaning "top." As something culminates it rises toward a peak. These days the word is most familiar to English speakers in its figurative usage meaning "to reach a climactic or decisive point."
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Tristful
WORD OF THE DAY
tristful \ TRIST-ful \ adjective
Definition
: sad, melancholy
Examples
"Oberlus was at least an accomplished writer, and no mere boor; and what is more, was capable of the most tristful eloquence."
— Herman Melville, The Piazza Tales, 1856
"I've been dreading the moment I wake. Waking is a tristful business for the man who reflects."
— Howard Jacobson, The Independent (London), 27 Nov. 2010
Did You Know?
The Middle English word trist, from which tristful is derived, means "sad." Today, we spell this word triste (echoing the spelling of its French ancestor, a descendant of the Latin tristis), whereas tristful has continued to be spelled without the e.
Is there a connection between triste ("sad") and tryst ("a secret rendezvous of lovers")? No. Tryst also traces back to a Middle English trist, but it is a different word, a noun that is a synonym of trust.
This other word trist eventually fell into disuse, but before doing so, it may have given rise to a word for a station used by hunters, which in turn led to tryst.
tristful \ TRIST-ful \ adjective
Definition
: sad, melancholy
Examples
"Oberlus was at least an accomplished writer, and no mere boor; and what is more, was capable of the most tristful eloquence."
— Herman Melville, The Piazza Tales, 1856
"I've been dreading the moment I wake. Waking is a tristful business for the man who reflects."
— Howard Jacobson, The Independent (London), 27 Nov. 2010
Did You Know?
The Middle English word trist, from which tristful is derived, means "sad." Today, we spell this word triste (echoing the spelling of its French ancestor, a descendant of the Latin tristis), whereas tristful has continued to be spelled without the e.
Is there a connection between triste ("sad") and tryst ("a secret rendezvous of lovers")? No. Tryst also traces back to a Middle English trist, but it is a different word, a noun that is a synonym of trust.
This other word trist eventually fell into disuse, but before doing so, it may have given rise to a word for a station used by hunters, which in turn led to tryst.
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