Fulcrum

WORD OF THE DAY

fulcrum / noun / FULL-krum

Definition

1a: prop 

1b: the support about which a lever turns

1c: one that supplies capability for action

2: a part of an animal that serves as a hinge or support

Examples

"Normally, bending involves using the hip as a fulcrum, and erector spinae muscles to support our trunk. When Jackson leaned over, he transferred the fulcrum to the ankle, with the calf and Achilles tendon under strain." 

— Jake Rossen, Mental Floss, 22 May 2018

"In 2014, then-Attorney General Greg Abbott issued a non-binding opinion advising that bag bans are legal if they are not aimed at 'solid waste management.' That murky phrase, which appears in the Texas Health and Safety Code, has become the fulcrum for debate on the issue." 

— Emma Platoff, The Texas Tribune, 22 June 2018

Did You Know?

Fulcrum, a word that means "bedpost" in Latin, derives from the verb fulcire, which means "to prop." When the word fulcrum was used in the 17th century, it referred to the point on which a lever or similar device (such as the oar of a boat) is supported. 

It did not take long for the word to develop a figurative sense referring to something used as a spur or justification to support a certain action. 

In zoology, fulcrum can also refer to a part of an animal that serves as a hinge or support, such as the joint supporting a bird's wing.

Canorous

WORD OF THE DAY

canorous / adjective / kuh-NOR-us

Definition
1: pleasant sounding
2: melodious

Examples
"His artistry, technical proficiency, and canorous melodies have an introspective yet uplifting feeling by virtue of the beauty and honesty that so naturally accompany the acoustic guitar."
— Kevin Gillies, Noozhawk (Santa Barbara, California), 26 Nov. 2018

"There is an element of truth to that, but Zephyr—such a canorous hippie-child name—sang a populist tune not found in any Beltway progressive songbook."
— Bill Kauffman, American Conservative, 1 Nov. 2014

Did You Know?
In Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1821), the author Thomas de Quincey describes a manservant who, after accidentally letting a loaded trunk fall down a flight of stairs, "sang out a long, loud, and canorous peal of laughter."
Canorous typically describes things, such as church choirs or birds in the spring, that are a pleasure to listen to. It derives from the Latin verb canere ("to sing"), a root it shares with a number of words that evoke what is sweet to the ear, such as chant, canticle ("a song"), cantor ("a leader of a choir"), carmen ("a song, poem, or incantation"), and even accent.

Enervate

WORD OF THE DAY

enervate / verb / EN-er-vayt

Definition

1: to reduce the mental or moral vigor of

2: to lessen the vitality or strength of

Examples

Dehydration and prolonged exposure to the sun had enervated the shipwrecked crew, leaving them almost too weak to hail the passing vessel.

"In contrast, there was dignity in the Joad family (of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath). When the Dust Bowl smothered Oklahoma, the Joads were not enervated, they moved west in search of work." 

— George Will, The Washington Post, 7 Dec. 2016

Did You Know?

Enervate is a word that some people use without really knowing what it means. They seem to believe that because enervate looks a little bit like energize and invigorate it must share their meaning—but it is actually their antonym. 

Enervate comes from the Latin enervatus,the past participle of the verb enervare, which literally means "to remove the sinews of," but is also used figuratively in the sense of "to weaken." 

The Latin enervare was formed from the prefix e-, meaning "out of," and nervus, meaning "sinew or nerve." So etymologically, at least, someone who is enervated is "out of nerve."