Word of the Day

Aegis “protection, support” comes by way of Latin from Ancient Greek aigís “shield of Zeus or Athena,” which may derive from aíx (stem aig-) “goat” in reference to a type of cloak or shield made of goatskin, plus -is, a noun-forming suffix. Because the stem of aigís is aigíd-, aegis may be pluralized in English either as aegises or, more traditionally, as aegides. Ancient Greek aíx does not have any clear relatives in modern English, and it remains uncertain whether aíx is of Indo-European origin or is a borrowing from a Middle Eastern source. Be sure not to confuse aíx with Latin agnus “lamb,” which looks similar but is not related. Aegis was first recorded in the mid-15th century.

Cherubic “of or having the nature of a cherub” is based on the noun cherub (plural cherubim or cherubs, depending on the context), plus the adjective-forming suffix -ic. Cherub derives via Latin from Ancient Greek kheroúb, which was adapted from Hebrew kərūbh. The Hebrew plural kərūbhīm was far better known than the singular kərūbh was, and earlier versions of English (compare Old English cerubim) as well as many Romance languages (compare French chérubin and Spanish querubín) based their singular words for cherub on the Hebrew plural. This singular–plural confusion even appears in literature; Madeleine L’Engle, in A Wind in the Door, includes a character who introduces itself, however paradoxically, as a “singular cherubim.” Cherubic was first recorded in English in the early 17th century.

Toxophilite “a devotee of archery” is based on the term Toxophilus “bow-lover,” which Roger Ascham coined for his book of the same name published in 1545. Toxophilus is based on Ancient Greek tóxon “bow” and phílos “loving, dear,” the latter of which we learned about from the recent Word of the Day philtrum. If you were wondering whether tóxon is related to the English word toxic, you have good instincts! Toxic ultimately comes from Ancient Greek toxikòn (phármakon) “bow (poison),” that is, poison used on arrows. Tóxon may be related to or derived from an Iranian source; compare Persian takhsh “cross-bow, arrow.” Toxophilite was first recorded in English circa 1790.

Bilious “extremely unpleasant or distasteful” comes from Latin bīliōsus, which is formed from the noun bīlis “bile” and the suffix -ōsus “full of, containing.” The origins of bīlis are mysterious, but that has not stopped linguists from developing theories. One hypothesis, however flimsy, is a connection to Latin fel “gallbladder; venom, poison,” which could point to a derivation from the Proto-Indo-European root bhel- “to shine; white, yellow,” but this is a bit of a stretch of phonetic logic. Another option, in light of some potential cognates of bīlis in Celtic languages (such as Welsh bustl “gall, bile”), could point to a pre-Indo-European source from which only the Celtic and Italic languages borrowed the term. Alternatively, bīlis and its Celtic cognates could be distantly related to English bite because of bile’s digestive effects. Bilious was first recorded in English circa 1540.

Baksheesh “a tip, present, or gratuity” is adapted from Persian bakhshish “gift,” a noun derived from the verb bakhshidan “to give.” Because Persian is a member of the Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family, bakhshidan comes from a Proto-Indo-European root, bhag- “to share out, apportion, receive a share”; we learned about this root previously as the source of the Word of the Day nebbish, which comes from a Slavic term meaning “poor”—or, originally, “not having received a share.” As we saw earlier this week with the Word of the Day auriferous, the Proto-Indo-European sound bh (“buh” pronounced with a puff of air) often becomes ph in Ancient Greek, which explains how bhag- becomes phagein “to eat,” as in esophagus as well as the combining form -phage, which is used to designate cells that eat foreign particles and bacteria. Baksheesh was first recorded in English in 1620.