Word of the Day

Chrestomathy is equivalent to Ancient Greek chrêsthai, “to use, need,” and manthánein, “to learn.” Chrêsthai is a distant relative of greedy and yearn, and as its stem math- would suggest, manthánein is indeed the source of mathematics and polymath. Chrestomathy was first recorded in English circa 1830. EXAMPLE OF CHRESTOMATHY USED IN A SENTENCE The chrestomathy, which contained several autobiographical excerpts translated from Spanish, provided the students with a glimpse into the author’s cultural heritage.

Jacal is borrowed from Mexican Spanish and adapted from Nahuatl xahcalli, with xah- meaning “adobe” and calli meaning “house,” which also appears in the Word of the Day teocalli. Of no relation to the animal name jackal, which is of Persian origin, jacal was first recorded in English in the 1830s. EXAMPLE OF JACAL USED IN A SENTENCE The jacal rose gently out of the hill, showing how locally sourced materials such as wood and clay could create homes in harmony with the landscape.

Sui juris is from Latin suī jūris, meaning “of one’s own right.” Suī is the possessive adjective meaning “her,” “his,” “its,” “one’s,” or “their.” Jūris is the rhotacized form of jūs, “law, right,” and it is the source of conjure, jury, and justice. Sui juris was first recorded in English circa 1610. EXAMPLE OF SUI JURIS USED IN A SENTENCE Unless demonstrated otherwise, every adult is regarded as sui juris in the eyes of the law.

Farouche comes from Old French. Prior to that, farouche may come from Late Latin forāsticus, “belonging outside,” from Latin forās or forīs, “outside, out of doors,” which is the source of foreign, forest, and forfeit. Farouche was first recorded in English in the 1760s. EXAMPLE OF FAROUCHE USED IN A SENTENCE On their first day of high school, the students who had recently moved to the district were farouche and kept to themselves.

Aurora comes from Latin aurōra, “dawn,” which was also the name of the Roman goddess of sunrise. Aurōra has two distant and unexpected relatives in English: east and Easter, both of which originally referred to the direction of the sunrise. In the context of lights in the sky, aurora was first recorded in English in the early 18th century. EXAMPLE OF AURORA USED IN A SENTENCE Because of that year’s strong solar wind, numerous aurorae glowed and danced in the winter sky.