Word of the Day
nonpartisan
adjective
not supporting or controlled by a political party, special interest group, or the like.
More about nonpartisan
Nonpartisan is formed from the negative prefix non- and the adjective partisan, which comes from Latin pars, meaning “piece, portion, faction.” Pars is also the source of parcel and particle (both literally “little piece”), and compartment (“shared with”). For the origin of the -isan element, check out the Word of the Day bipartisan. Nonpartisan was first recorded in English in the early 1880s.
EXAMPLE OF NONPARTISAN USED IN A SENTENCE
Members of all parties banded together to release an independent, nonpartisan statement about the future of the economy.
More about pizazz
Pizazz, which is also spelled pizzazz, pzazz, and even bezazz, is a term of unknown origin. Along with jazz, razzmatazz, and snazzy, pizazz belongs to a family of slang terms with double z’s that may reflect a longer trend of English speakers using the “zuh” sound to provoke a certain feeling or reaction. The first known instance of pizazz in writing dates to 1912, but it became popular when it appeared in the March 1937 issue of the magazine Harper’s Bazaar.
EXAMPLE OF PIZAZZ USED IN A SENTENCE
Though the singer hit every note, the director advised her to add some more pizazz to her performance to keep the audience’s attention.
modus ponens
noun
the reasoning that, when a conditional statement (if X is red) is accepted as true, a subsequent statement, beginning with “then” (then Y is blue), is also affirmed as true.
More about modus ponens
Modus ponens is borrowed from Latin and literally means “affirming mode.” Modus, which means “manner, kind, tone, way” in Classical Latin, also appears in the terms modus operandi (literally “way of working”) and modus vivendi (“way of living”). Ponens comes from Latin pōnere, “to place, put,” which is also the source of opponent, position, and postpone. Modus ponens was first recorded in English in the late 1830s.
EXAMPLE OF MODUS PONENS USED IN A SENTENCE
A common saying that uses modus ponens, with some variation, is “If there’s smoke, there’s fire.”