Word of the Day

Rangoli, “a traditional Hindu decoration made of powder produced on a flat surface,” is adapted from rãgoḷī in Marathi, a language native to central and western India with over 90 million speakers. Numerous languages of the Indian subcontinent inherit much of their vocabulary from the classical language Sanskrit, and Marathi is no exception. In this way, rãgoḷī comes from Sanskrit raṅga “color” combined with āvali “line.” Rangoli was first recorded in English in the early 1880s. EXAMPLE OF RANGOLI USED IN A SENTENCE The community came together to create a vibrant rangoli on the stone floor of the library’s lobby.

Pandiculation, “the act of stretching oneself,” comes from the Latin verb pandiculārī, “to stretch, grimace,” which derives from pandere, “to spread out, extend.” Pandere has three stems in English: pand-, pans-, and pass-. We can find pand- and pans- in expand and expansion, while pass- appears in compass and passport. Unfortunately, pandiculation is not related to panda, which was borrowed from one of the languages spoken in Nepal. Pandiculation entered English in the early 17th century. EXAMPLE OF PANDICULATION USED IN A SENTENCE After a long session of pandiculation, the bleary-eyed panda rose and set off in search of breakfast.

Strigiform, “of or pertaining to owls,” is based on Latin strix (stem strig-), “screech owl,” which comes from Ancient Greek stríx, “owl,” of uncertain origin. Stríx is one of several Ancient Greek words for “owl” (compare scops owl) that are likely of pre-Greek origin, coming from a long-lost language of the eastern Mediterranean. For another example of a pre-Greek word, check out the Word of the Day dithyrambic. Stríx also gives rise to Latin striga, which has a variety of macabre senses, from “evil spirit” to “vampire” to “witch.” Strigiform was first recorded in English in the late 1870s. EXAMPLE OF STRIGIFORM USED IN A SENTENCE In the fresco, Athena appears surrounded by wide-eyed strigiform figures, probably to underscore her association with wisdom.

Cryptomnesia, “the phenomenon of regarding an old memory as a new idea,” is based on crypto-, “hidden, secret,” and Ancient Greek mnêsis, “memory.” Crypto-, ultimately from Ancient Greek krýptein, “to hide,” is of unclear origin. Confusing matters further is the resemblance between krýptein and kalýptein, “to cover,” which is the source of eucalyptus (literally “well covered”) and possibly Calypso, a sea nymph in the Odyssey. Mnêsis is also the source of the Word of the Day hypermnesia and is distantly related to a range of thought-related words containing m followed by n, including mantra, mental, mind, and mnemonic. Cryptomnesia was first recorded in English at the turn of the 20th century. EXAMPLE OF CRYPTOMNESIA USED IN A SENTENCE One member of the study group, clearly experiencing cryptomnesia, suggested an idea that he didn’t realize he had heard in a news story earlier that day.

Chicanery, “trickery by quibbling,” is an adaptation of French chicanerie, from the verb chicaner, which is typically translated as “to quibble” or “to split hairs” and once referred specifically to legal contexts. Appropriate for its meaning, the origin of French chicaner is controversial. One possible derivation is from a Germanic root meaning “to arrange” that is also the source of chic (via German Schick, “skill”). Alternatively, chicaner may be a merger of chic-, a common Romance element indicating smallness (compare chinchy and Spanish chico, “boy”), and ricaner, “to snicker.” Chicanery was first recorded in English circa 1610. EXAMPLE OF CHICANERY USED IN A SENTENCE Though the judge dismissed the lawsuit on a technicality, the prosecutors knew that it was the defense attorney’s chicanery that had successfully distracted from the matter at hand.