Word of the Day
trothplight
noun
engagement to be married; betrothal.
More about trothplight
Trothplight, “engagement to be married,” is a compound of troth, “faithfulness, truth, promise,” and plight, “pledge.” Troth, which is also found in betroth, “to arrange for the marriage of,” shares an origin with truce, true, truth, and trust and comes from a root meaning “firmness,” both literal and figurative. This literal sense is why the root also appears in words relating to wood, such as English tree as well as Ancient Greek déndron, “tree” (as in rhododendron), and drŷs, “tree, oak” (as in dryad). Trothplight was first recorded in English in the early 14th century.
EXAMPLE OF TROTHPLIGHT USED IN A SENTENCE
After a trothplight of unclear length, Anne Hathaway and William Shakespeare were married in 1582.
zinfandel
noun
a dry red wine made from a black vinifera grape in California.
More about zinfandel
Zinfandel, “a dry red wine,” is of uncertain origin, but there is one promising explanation. Perhaps through an intermediary such as Czech or Hungarian, the idea is that zinfandel is a corruption of Zierfandler, a variety of Austrian grape. Though the change from the original Zierfandler to zinfandel is a little unusual, there is a phonological basis for this; what remains mysterious is how zinfandel came to refer to a black grape used to make red wine when Zierfandler is a red grape used to make white wine. Zinfandel was first recorded in English in the late 1890s.
EXAMPLE OF ZINFANDEL USED IN A SENTENCE
As the dinner guests arrived, he broke open a bottle of zinfandel to welcome them to his home.
succotash
noun
a cooked dish of kernels of corn mixed with shell beans, especially lima beans, and, often, with green and sweet red peppers.
More about succotash
Succotash, “a cooked dish of corn and beans,” is adapted from msíckquatash, “boiled whole kernels of corn,” in Narragansett, which is an Algonquian language with roots in what is now Rhode Island. Narragansett and its close Algonquian relatives, including Massachusett and Maliseet, are the sources of many loanwords in American and Canadian English, such as mugwump, toboggan, and the Word of the Day wampum. Succotash was first recorded in English circa 1750.
EXAMPLE OF SUCCOTASH USED IN A SENTENCE
They loved going over to their grandmother’s for dinner because she always served some variation of succotash.