Word of the Day

Androsphinx, “a sphinx with the head of a man,” is a compound of andro-, “man,” and sphinx, the mythical riddle-posing creature composed of a woman’s head, a lion’s body, and a bird’s wings. Andro- comes from Ancient Greek anḗr, “man,” which is the source of the names Alexander, Andromeda, and Cassandra. Sphinx comes from Ancient Greek sphínx, which is based on the verb sphíngein, “to hold tight,” perhaps after a sphinx’s storied tendency to strangle the poor souls who could not solve its riddles. The female equivalent of androsphinx should be “gynecosphinx” for etymological reasons, though numerous sources use the not-quite-yet-standardized “gynosphinx” instead. Androsphinx was first recorded in English in the first decade of the 17th century. EXAMPLE OF ANDROSPHINX USED IN A SENTENCE Though the sphinx in the Greek myth of Oedipus was a winged female, the Great Sphinx of Giza is a wingless androsphinx.

Dwy, “a gusty flurry,” is used in the Newfoundland dialect of English, and it may be linked originally to dwyes, “eddies,” in the dialect of the Isle of Wight (off the coast of southern England) or twy, “coastal squall,” in the dialects of Hampshire and Wiltshire (in southern England). Newfoundland is well known for its unique variety of English, which exhibits heavy influence from the English dialects of southern/southwestern England, southeastern Ireland, and both Highland and Lowland Scotland, despite its location in Atlantic Canada, because of longtime immigration from those regions. Dwy was first recorded in English in the early 1860s. EXAMPLE OF DWY USED IN A SENTENCE The lighthouse keeper knew that she had to prepare for the dwies of winter.

Momentous, “of great or far-reaching importance or consequence,” is based on the noun moment and the adjective-forming suffix -ous. Moment comes from Latin mōmentum, literally meaning “motion” and figuratively signifying an influential element, such as a point in time. The mō- element of mōmentum comes from the verb movēre, “to move.” Movēre is the direct source of move, while its stem mōt- is found in motion and motor, and mō- also appears in mobile. Momentous was first recorded in English circa 1650. EXAMPLE OF MOMENTOUS USED IN A SENTENCE Serena Williams has achieved many momentous wins in her historic career, including a record setting number of Grand Slam titles. For another momentous word, find out what we chose as the 2022 Word Of The Year!

Utilidor, “an insulated network that conveys water and electricity in frozen areas,” is a portmanteau of utility and corridor. Utility ultimately comes from Latin ūtī (stem ūs-), “to use,” which is also the source of usual, usurp, and utensil. Corridor comes from Italian corridore (also corridoio), based on correre, “to run,” from Latin currere; for more examples of currere’s descendants in English, check out the Word of the Day corsair. Utilidor was first recorded in English in the late 1950s. EXAMPLE OF UTILIDOR USED IN A SENTENCE In northern cities such as Iqaluit, Utqiagvik, and Yellowknife, utilidors provide a useful lifeline during the dark, frozen winter months.

Oleoresinous, “consisting of drying oils and resins,” is a compound of oleo-, “oil”; resin; and -ous, a suffix roughly meaning “full of, consisting of.” Oleo- comes by way of Latin oleum or olīvum, “oil, olive oil,” from Ancient Greek élaion (dialectal élaiwon), which derives from elaíā (dialectal elaíwā), “olive.” For the reason why these Ancient Greek words are inconsistent about the letter w, check out the recent Word of the Day oenology. Resin comes via Latin rēsīna from Ancient Greek rhētīnē, of uncertain origin. Oleoresinous was first recorded in English in the mid-1840s. EXAMPLE OF OLEORESINOUS USED IN A SENTENCE She distilled turmeric to create the oleoresinous varnish for the custom coatrack.