Word of the Day

As we learned from the Word of the Day bibliophile, biblio- comes from Ancient Greek biblíon, “papyrus roll.” The form -gony, meaning “origination, production,” comes from Ancient Greek gónos, “seed, generation,” which appears in several words related to reproduction. Bibliogony was first recorded in English circa 1840. EXAMPLE OF BIBLIOGONY USED IN A SENTENCE The emerging demand for e-books spurred a seismic shift in the standards of bibliogony.

Myco- in mycorrhiza comes from Ancient Greek mýkēs, “mushroom, fungus,” which may be a distant relative of Latin mūcus. The form -rrhiza comes from Ancient Greek rhíza, “root,” which is also the source of licorice. Mycorrhiza was first recorded in English in the early 1890s. EXAMPLE OF MYCORRHIZA USED IN A SENTENCE The mushrooms developed mycorrhizae with the roots of a nearby tree, allowing the tiny fungi and the tall plant to exchange nutrients with one another.

Radiant is based on Latin radiāns, “shining,” from the verb radiāre, “to shine.” While English uses -ing for present participles (as in seeing, going), Latin uses -ns, often changing to -nt-. This is why Latin pungēns, “piercing,” becomes pungent and conveniēns, “coming together,” becomes convenient. Radiant was first recorded in English in the late 15th century. EXAMPLE OF RADIANT USED IN A SENTENCE The meteors emerged from a radiant somewhere in the constellation Lyra and streaked across the night sky.

The noun rort is an example of a back formation. It was formed from the adjective rorty, “boisterous, rowdy” or earlier “fine, splendid." Rorty itself may be connected to the verb roar. Rort was first recorded in English in the mid-1920s. Learn more about common back formations in English. EXAMPLE OF RORT USED IN A SENTENCE The Friday night gathering turned into a wild rort, with wine and revelry lasting until dawn.

Northpaw is often said to come from baseball, with a westward-facing pitcher’s right arm to the north, but this claim remains unproven. Many languages associate handedness with cardinal directions; compare Biblical Hebrew yāmîn, meaning both “right hand” and “south." Northpaw was first recorded in English in the late 1890s. Northpaw is one of the recent additions to Dictionary.com. EXAMPLE OF NORTHPAW USED IN A SENTENCE To switch things up after hours of practicing, the left-handed pitcher threw northpaw instead.