Word of the Day

Baetyl, “a sacred meteorite,” comes by way of Latin baetulus from Ancient Greek baítȳlos, “meteoric stone.” Baítȳlos is sometimes hypothesized to be of pre-Greek origin, meaning that it may be a borrowing from a long-lost language of the Mediterranean. However, a far more interesting (and likely) proposal is that baítȳlos comes from a Semitic source such as Hebrew bēth ’ēl (compare bethel) or Phoenician bēt ’l, both of which mean “house of god.” Phoenician bēt, “house,” is the origin of the Ancient Greek letter beta and, by extension, alphabet. Baetyl was first recorded in English in the early 1850s. EXAMPLE OF BAETYL USED IN A SENTENCE Though they may look to us simply like old, rugged stones, baetyls served a central purpose in ancient Mediterranean religions.

Cannikin, “a small can or drinking cup,” is adapted from Middle Dutch cannekijn, “little can,” which is equivalent to Middle Dutch canne, “can,” combined with the diminutive suffix -kijn, “little, small.” Canne and English can may be related to Late Latin canna, “small vessel,” which itself may derive from Latin canna, “reed,” but any potential connections among these four words is controversial. The suffix -kijn is the source of English -kin, as in lambkin, and is related to German -chen, as in Gretchen, “little Margareta.” Cannikin was first recorded in English in the 1560s. EXAMPLE OF CANNIKIN USED IN A SENTENCE Minutes after tapping another keg of mead, cannikins and goblets across the dining hall were filled to their brims—and quickly emptied.

Calash “​​a light vehicle seating two to four passengers” is an adaptation of French calèche, which is itself a borrowing by way of German from Czech kolesa “carriage,” related to kolo “wheel,” both from an ancient Slavic root meaning “wheel.” Because the Slavic languages constitute a branch of the Indo-European language family, Czech kolesa and kolo have relatives throughout Europe and southern Asia, from English wheel (Old English hwēol) and Ancient Greek kýklos “wheel, circle, ring” (compare English cycle and cyclo-) to Sanskrit cakra “wheel, circle” (borrowed into English as chakra) and Persian charkha (also transliterated as čarxe) “spinning wheel.” Check out the recent Word of the Day bazaar for more. Calash was first recorded in English in the 1660s. EXAMPLE OF CALASH USED IN A SENTENCE As the calash clattered over the slick, wet cobblestones, the passengers pulled down the folding top to keep the rain out.

Yeuk comes from Middle Dutch jeuken, which is also related to German jucken and Old English giccan (pronounced “yeet-chahn”), all of which mean “to itch.” A common trend in the history of the English language is for Old English gi-, when pronounced as “yee,” to lose the g eventually, which is why modern English has itch instead of “gitch” or “yitch.” Yeuk was first recorded in English at the turn of the 15th century. Satisfy your itch for more words with the medical term for itching. EXAMPLE OF YEUK USED IN A SENTENCE Steer clear of poison ivy leaves when you’re on a hike, or you may start yeuking for days on end! FUN FACT ABOUT YEUK Rubbing or lightly slapping a yeuk has the same feel-good effect as yeuking, without the risk of damage to the skin. Learn more fun facts at the Museum of Science.

Rhotacize, “to change a sound to an r,” is the verb form of rhotacism and is based on the Greek letter rho, on the pattern of iotacism. Similar to the recent Word of the Day muon, Ancient Greek rhô comes from Phoenician rōš, “head,” a cognate of the Hebrew letter rēsh. Phoenician rōš has relatives in several Afro-Asiatic languages, including Amharic ras, as in Rastafarian; Hebrew rōsh, as in Rosh Hashanah; and Arabic ra’s, as in Ra’s al Ghul, a comic supervillain whose name translates as “Head of the Demon.” All Ancient Greek words containing rho are transcribed in English with -rh- because the Greeks once pronounced the “ruh” sound with a “huh”-like breathiness called aspiration. Rhotacize was first recorded in English in the early 1960s. EXAMPLE OF RHOTACIZE USED IN A SENTENCE English speakers have permanently rhotacized many s and z sounds over the past 2,000 years, with ancient Germanic auso, haso, and wēz- becoming modern English ear, hare, and were.