Word of the Day
palsy-walsy
adjective
friendly or appearing to be friendly in a very intimate or hearty way.
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Why Dictionary.com chose palsy-walsy
More about palsy-walsy
- Palsy-walsy is a slang term that was first recorded in 1930-35.
- It is a rhyming compound based on the adjective palsy, which was first recorded in 1925-30 and comes from pal.
- Pal was first recorded in 1675-85 and comes from a variant of the continental Romani word phral, “brother, mate,” ultimately from Sanskrit bhrātṛ “brother.”
EXAMPLES OF PALSY-WALSY
- The salesperson’s overly palsy-walsy attitude made the customer feel uncomfortable.
- I don’t like how she acts all palsy-walsy with me when she needs something.
cacao
noun
a small tropical American evergreen tree, cultivated for its seeds, the source of cocoa, chocolate, etc.
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Why Dictionary.com chose cacao
More about cacao
- Cacao is often confused with cocoa, which is a powder made from the seeds of the cacao.
- Cacao was first recorded in 1545–55, while cocoa entered English around 1670 as a variant of cacao.
- Cacao comes via Spanish from the Nahuatl word cacahuatl, which means the seeds of the cacao.
- Both cacao and cocoa are used as common names of the tree, but only cocoa is also used to refer to foods and drinks made from the seeds.
EXAMPLES OF CACAO
- The cacao tree thrives in the warm and humid climate of tropical regions.
- The production of high-quality chocolate starts with selecting the finest cacao beans available.
fartlek
noun
a training technique, used especially among runners, consisting of bursts of intense effort loosely alternating with less strenuous activity.
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Why Dictionary.com chose fartlek
More about fartlek
- Fartlek comes from a combination of the Swedish words fart, meaning “speed,” and lek, “play.”
- Fart is cognate with the English verb fare, meaning “to go, travel,” and lek may be related to English lark, “a carefree adventure; to have fun.” But it has a far more popular relative: LEGO, the name of a brand of interlocking plastic bricks, from Danish leg godt, meaning “to play well.”
- Fartlek was first mentioned in English in the periodical Scholastic Coach in 1952.
- Swedish national cross-country coach Gösta Holmér developed the technique in response to his team’s poor performances against their Finnish rivals in the 1930s.
EXAMPLES OF FARTLEK
- The coach designed a fartlek workout that would challenge her team both mentally and physically.
- Fartleks can be a great way for runners to improve their speed and endurance without getting bored with a monotonous training regimen.
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