Word of the Day

In medias res, “in the middle of things,” is a borrowing of Latin in mediās rēs, literally meaning “into middle things.” Latin in is a distant relative of English in and can mean either “into” or “in, on,” depending on context. Mediās is a form of medius, “middle,” which is also the source of medieval, medium, and the Word of the Day mezzaluna. Rēs is the same in its singular and plural forms; compare the Latin-origin words caries, rabies, series, and species. In medias res was first recorded in English in the 1780s. EXAMPLE OF IN MEDIAS RES USED IN A SENTENCE The action film began in medias res, with an exciting car chase.

Superannuated, “antiquated or obsolete,” comes from Medieval Latin superannātus, “over a year old.” Superannātus is based on Latin super, “above, beyond, over,” and annus, “year.” Super is a distant relative of English over, German über, and Ancient Greek hypér; compare the Words of the Day hypermnesia and supercilious. Annus is the source of anniversary and annual, and its stem enn- can be found in millennium and the Word of the Day perennial. Superannuated was first recorded in English circa 1530. EXAMPLE OF SUPERANNUATED USED IN A SENTENCE The townspeople came together and voted to remove the superannuated and unpopular clause from the town’s charter.

Alluvion, “an increase of land on a shore by the action of water,” comes from Latin alluviō, “an overflowing,” in which the -luv- element comes from lavāre, “to wash.” The basic stems of lavāre (lau- and lav-) are visible in latrine (earlier lavātrīna), laundry, lavatory, and lavish—but not lava. Meanwhile, through its broader range of stems, lavāre is also the source of the Word of the Day antediluvian, and deluge and lotion. Alluvion was first recorded in English in the 1530s. EXAMPLE OF ALLUVION USED IN A SENTENCE The anglers had to step lively to avoid sinking into the soft area of alluvion along the river’s edge.

Gul, “a rose-shaped design,” is a short word with a long history. The term is a loanword from classical Persian gul, “rose.” Thanks to a series of sound changes, gul comes from an ancient Iranian root, warda-, that may have been borrowed into Ancient Greek as wrodon, later rhódon, “rose,” and then into Latin as rosa. This flowery root appears in English rose, rhododendron, and even julep, but be careful—despite the resemblance, it is not the source of the Word of the Day rosolio. Gul was first recorded in English in the 1810s. EXAMPLE OF GUL USED IN A SENTENCE The carpet’s ornate central gul caught the interior designer’s eye.

Eruct comes from the Latin verb ērūgere, “to belch out, discharge noisily.” Not surprisingly, the -ruct part of eruct is distantly related to English reek, “to smell bad.” While reek is of Old English origin (and therefore more than 1000 years old), eruct was first recorded in English in the 1660s. Read more about this medical term. EXAMPLE OF ERUCT USED IN A SENTENCE The unlucky photographer missed the perfect shot when he eructed and bumped the camera out of focus.