Word of the Day

Aegrotat, “a graduate degree given because of illness,” is a British English term that was borrowed from Latin, in which aegrōtat literally means “(a person) is sick.” Unlike English, Latin typically uses -re to mark the infinitive, therefore, the infinitive counterpart of aegrōtat is aegrōtāre, meaning “to be sick,” which comes from aeger, “sick.” Despite the similar spelling, aeger is not related to Latin ager (stem agr-), “field,” or the recent Word of the Day eagre. Aegrotat was first recorded in English in the early 1860s. Learn more about the differences between British English and American English here. EXAMPLE OF AEGROTAT USED IN A SENTENCE With an unusually nasty flu making its way around the university, the vice-chancellor granted aegrotats to several sick students who were otherwise set to graduate midyear.

Shillelagh, “club, stick” has two possible origins. Though it may not seem like one at first, shillelagh may be an example of a toponym, or a word derived from a placename. While English has no shortage of food-related toponyms, this origin of shillelagh is not found in the kitchen. Instead, shillelagh comes from the Irish town name Síol Éalaigh, which is located in County Wicklow, Ireland, next to a forest that once provided wood for the clubs. In the name Síol Éalaigh, síol means “seed, descendant,” while Éalaigh is a form of the given name Éalach. Alternatively, shillelagh may derive instead from Irish Gaelic sail, “willow” (compare English sallow), and iall, “strap, thong.” Shillelagh was first recorded in English in the 1670s. EXAMPLE OF SHILLELAGH USED IN A SENTENCE Despite its simple appearance as a curved or knobbly cane, the shillelagh is a centerpiece of an Irish variety of martial arts.

Arrivederci, “goodbye for the present,” is a loanword from Italian composed of several elements. The first of these is a, “to,” from Latin ad. The second element is ri-, “back, again,” from Latin re-, which is found in the recent Words of the Day refractory, revenant, and revitalize. Next is vedere, “to see,” which is also an element in the Word of the Day belvedere. Arrivederci is almost an exact cognate of French au revoir; a key difference is the final additional element in Italian, ci, “us, each other.” In this way, while French au revoir literally means “to the seeing again,” Italian arrivederci literally means “to seeing each other again.” Arrivederci was first recorded in English circa 1670. EXAMPLE OF ARRIVEDERCI USED IN A SENTENCE In the closing minutes of the last class of the semester, the professor bade her students a warm “arrivederci” and began thinking about her vacation.

Desegregation, “the elimination of laws under which people are separated,” is a compound of de-, “not, un-,” and segregation, which comes from Latin sēgregāre, “to part from the flock.” Sēgregāre is formed from sē-, “without, apart,” and grex (stem greg-), “flock,” the latter of which is also the source of congregate (literally meaning “to flock together”), gregarious (“belonging to a flock”), and egregious (“out of the flock”). Though segregation is often contrasted with its rhyming opposite integration, the two are unrelated. Instead, integration ultimately comes from Latin integer, “untouched, undivided, whole.” Desegregation was first recorded in English in the early 1950s. (Read more about an important example of desegregation on this day in 1960.) EXAMPLE OF DESEGREGATION USED IN A SENTENCE A flurry of court cases and legislation, such as Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, was critical to desegregation in the United States.

Gouache, “an opaque watercolor prepared with gum,” is a loanword from French and is adapted from Italian guazzo, originally meaning “place where there is water.” Guazzo, in turn, apparently comes from Latin aquātiō, of the same meaning, from aqua, “water.” The Italian descendant of Latin aqua is acqua, and the Latin suffix -tiō usually becomes -gione, -zione, or -zzone in Italian, which is why Latin aquātiō is also the source of Italian acquazzone, “downpour.” How guazzo came into being, when it does not follow standard Latin-to-Italian sound change patterns, is a bit of a mystery, but one possibility is that guazzo reflects an early borrowing from a Romance language of northern Italy. Gouache was first recorded in English in the early 1880s. EXAMPLE OF GOUACHE USED IN A SENTENCE In contrast to watercolors, which are designed to be translucent, the thickness of gouache allows for bold colors after a single session of painting.