Word of the Day
More about welkin
The roots of welkin, “the sky,” run rather deep in English history. Welkin’s earliest recorded form is Old English wolcen, “cloud, sky,” the plural of which is wolcnu. Wolcen belongs to a class of nouns in Old English that added a final -u when they became plural. Other such words include æcern, “acorn”; cnēow, “knee”; and scip, “ship,” all of which simply add -s today in the plural. Outside the British Isles, welkin appears to have relatives in other West Germanic languages, such as Dutch wolk and German Wolke, both “cloud,” but no clear connections beyond that branch. Welkin was first recorded in English before 900 CE.
EXAMPLE OF WELKIN USED IN A SENTENCE
As they drove through the night, the North Star arose in the darkened welkin, guiding them home.
More about asinine
Asinine, “foolish, unintelligent, or silly,” comes from Latin asinīnus, which is based on asinus, “donkey.” The specific origin of asinus remains unknown and unrecorded, but there is ample evidence that it derives from a lost pre-Roman language based on its resemblance to other Eurasian words for “donkey” or, specifically, “female donkey,” such as Ancient Greek ónos, Arabicʾatān, and even Luwian tarkasna-. This could all point to an origin for asinus in what is now Iraq, perhaps Sumerian anše or anšu, “donkey.” Asinine was first recorded in English at the turn of the 17th century. Learn a few synonyms for asinine.
EXAMPLE OF ASININE USED IN A SENTENCE
The guest speaker’s bizarre misuse of several complex words made him sound asinine.
bombogenesis
noun
the process in which the air pressure in the center of a cyclone rapidly drops, potentially producing hurricane-force winds with very heavy rain or snow.
Why the Museum of Science chose bombogenesis
To find out, watch this video about bombogenesis from award-winning science communicator Maynard Okereke, better known as the Hip Hop M.D.
Learn more fun facts at the Museum of Science.
More about bombogenesis
Bombogenesis, “the 24-hour process in which a cyclone develops hurricane-force winds,” is formed from bomb, in the sense of bomb cyclone or weather bomb, and genesis. Bomb ultimately comes from Ancient Greek bómbos, “a booming sound.” Though bómbos and English boom aren’t related, they are formed in the same way: by verbally mimicking a loud noise. Bombogenesis was first recorded in English in the early 2000s.
EXAMPLE OF BOMBOGENESIS USED IN A SENTENCE
The skiers hunkered down when they learned that the onset of the bombogenesis was still to come.
