Word of the Day

Qiviut is the plural of qiviuq, “down, underhair.” It’s a borrowing from one of the Inuit languages, as are Words of the Day angakok and anorak. The letter q in Inuit languages is pronounced farther back in the mouth than the q in English, producing a sound about halfway between English k and French r. Give it a try! Qiviut was first recorded in English in the late 1950s. EXAMPLE OF QIVIUT USED IN A SENTENCE The thick lining of qiviut inside his coat kept him warm during his morning walk.

Pluvial comes from the Latin pluvia, “rain.” Another word for “rain” in Latin is imber, but while pluvia is the source of many modern Romance words for “rain” (such as French pluie, Italian pioggia, and Spanish lluvia), imber has barely any related words today. Pluvial was first recorded in English in the 1650s. EXAMPLE OF PLUVIAL USED IN A SENTENCE The burst of pluvial weather left mud and puddles in its wake.

Prolegomenon comes from the Ancient Greek prolegómenon, literally “being said beforehand.” The -legómenon element is closely related to several stems in English pertaining to counting, speech, and words, such as lect- (as in dialect), lex- (lexicon), and log- (catalog). Prolegomenon was first recorded in English around 1650. EXAMPLE OF PROLEGOMENON USED IN A SENTENCE A prolegomenon in The Fellowship of the Ring introduces readers to the nature and customs of hobbits.

Clarsach is an adaptation of either the Irish Gaelic cláirseach or the Scottish Gaelic clàrsach, both meaning “harp.” These two words likely come from the Old Irish clár, which variously means “board, plank” or “table, tablet.” Clarsach may be related through Ancient Greek to clergy, cleric, clerk, and the name Clark. Clarsach was first recorded in English around 1805. EXAMPLE OF CLARSACH USED IN A SENTENCE The golden clarsach shines against a dark green background on the flag of Leinster.

Vigesimal comes from Latin vīcēsimus, “twentieth.” While English and its Germanic relatives base their words for “twenty” on a combination of “two” and “ten,” Latin vīgintī is distantly related to Ancient Greek eíkosi (as in icosahedron, a twenty-sided figure) and Sanskrit viṃśatí (as in pachisi, a game in which twenty-five is the highest score). Vigesimal was first recorded in English in the 1650s. EXAMPLE OF VIGESIMAL USED IN A SENTENCE French now uses a vigesimal system for numbers over 60, representing 80 as “4 × 20” and 90 as “4 × 20 + 10.”