Word of the Day
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Why Dictionary.com chose smaze
More about smaze
- Smaze was first recorded around 1950–55.
- Smaze is a portmanteau, a combination, of the words smoke and haze.
- Smoke was first recorded before 1000 and is from an Old English word, smoca.
- Haze was first recorded in 1700–10 and comes perhaps from a variant of the Old English word haswa, “ashen, dusky.”
EXAMPLES OF SMAZE
- The dense smaze hanging over the city obscured the view of the skyline.
- The combination of a morning fog and chimney smoke created an eerie smaze in the countryside.
sanguivorous
adjective
feeding on blood, as a bat or insect.
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Why Dictionary.com chose sanguivorous
More about sanguivorous
- Sanguivorous was first recorded in 1835–45.
- Sanguivorous is a combination of the Latin root sangui-, meaning “blood,” and -vorous, meaning “eating or gaining sustenance from.”
- Other similar adjectives include: omnivorous, carnivorous, herbivorous, piscivorous, and frugivorous.
EXAMPLES OF SANGUIVOROUS
- Vampire legends often depict mythical creatures that are both immortal and sanguivorous, requiring human blood to sustain themselves.
- The surgeon skillfully removed a leech from the patient’s arm, a sanguivorous creature seeking a blood meal.
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Why Dictionary.com chose gaffe
More about gaffe
- Gaffe entered English around 1905–10.
- Gaffe comes from the same French word meaning “blunder.”
- The French word gaffe probably was a special use of the word gaff, an iron hook used for handling large fish.
- Gaff comes from Provençal gaf, meaning “hook,” and derived from the verb gafar “to seize.”
EXAMPLES OF GAFFE
- The politician’s gaffe during the press conference caused a media frenzy and became a topic of ridicule for weeks.
- She realized her gaffe shortly after she mispronounced her colleague’s name during an important meeting with clients.
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