Word of the Day

Rabble-rouse, “to stir up the public’s emotions,” is a back formation from rabble-rouser, which is a compound of the noun rabble, “a disorderly crowd,” and the verb rouse, “to stir to anger.” Rabble is of uncertain origin, but it may be related to Middle Dutch rabbelen, “to speak hurriedly.” An earlier sense of rouse was “to shake the feathers” and referred to hawks, and while the origin of rouse is equally uncertain, one hypothesis is a connection to Latin recūsāre, meaning “to demur, object,” which is the source of English recuse. Rabble-rouse was first recorded in English in the late 1950s. EXAMPLE OF RABBLE-ROUSE USED IN A SENTENCE Though at first its organizers were accused of mere rabble-rousing, the civil rights march evolved into a widely-celebrated parade.

Retcon, “to later revise (an established element of a fictional story),” is a shortening based on the first syllables in retroactive continuity. This type of shortening is called syllabic abbreviation, and other common examples in English include fro-yo (from frozen yogurt), hazmat (from hazardous material), and sitcom (from situation comedy). Ultimately, retroactive is from Latin retrō, “back, backward,” combined with agere (past participle stem āct-), “to do,” while continuity is formed from Latin con-, “with, together,” combined with tenēre (combining stem tin-), “to hold.” Retcon was first recorded in the early 1980s. EXAMPLE OF RETCON USED IN A SENTENCE Though the first season showed the doctor naming the family spaceship after her favorite Norse god, later seasons retconned this and gave all the ships that same name.

Rangoli, “a traditional Hindu decoration made of powder produced on a flat surface,” is adapted from rãgoḷī in Marathi, a language native to central and western India with over 90 million speakers. Numerous languages of the Indian subcontinent inherit much of their vocabulary from the classical language Sanskrit, and Marathi is no exception. In this way, rãgoḷī comes from Sanskrit raṅga “color” combined with āvali “line.” Rangoli was first recorded in English in the early 1880s. EXAMPLE OF RANGOLI USED IN A SENTENCE The community came together to create a vibrant rangoli on the stone floor of the library’s lobby.

Pandiculation, “the act of stretching oneself,” comes from the Latin verb pandiculārī, “to stretch, grimace,” which derives from pandere, “to spread out, extend.” Pandere has three stems in English: pand-, pans-, and pass-. We can find pand- and pans- in expand and expansion, while pass- appears in compass and passport. Unfortunately, pandiculation is not related to panda, which was borrowed from one of the languages spoken in Nepal. Pandiculation entered English in the early 17th century. EXAMPLE OF PANDICULATION USED IN A SENTENCE After a long session of pandiculation, the bleary-eyed panda rose and set off in search of breakfast.

Strigiform, “of or pertaining to owls,” is based on Latin strix (stem strig-), “screech owl,” which comes from Ancient Greek stríx, “owl,” of uncertain origin. Stríx is one of several Ancient Greek words for “owl” (compare scops owl) that are likely of pre-Greek origin, coming from a long-lost language of the eastern Mediterranean. For another example of a pre-Greek word, check out the Word of the Day dithyrambic. Stríx also gives rise to Latin striga, which has a variety of macabre senses, from “evil spirit” to “vampire” to “witch.” Strigiform was first recorded in English in the late 1870s. EXAMPLE OF STRIGIFORM USED IN A SENTENCE In the fresco, Athena appears surrounded by wide-eyed strigiform figures, probably to underscore her association with wisdom.