Word of the Day

Génoise, “a light yellow cake,” is the feminine form of French génois, “of Genoa.” Genoa, known as Gênes in French, Genova in Italian, and Zêna in the local Ligurian language, is a major city in northwestern Italy. The city’s name has multiple possible origins. The Latin name, oppidum Genua, may reflect a connection to genū, “knee,” or gena, “cheek,” perhaps because of its location in a corner of the Gulf of Genoa or near the mouth of an ancient waterway. However, in the Middle Ages, Genoa’s Latin name was changed to Janua, and this alternative may stem from Janus, the two-faced Roman god of beginnings and doorways, or the noun jānua, “door” (compare janitor and January). Génoise was first recorded in English in the early 1930s. EXAMPLE OF GÉNOISE USED IN A SENTENCE The pastry chef made the most exquisite génoise that we almost didn't want to eat it!

Cucurbit, “any plant of the gourd family,” ultimately comes from Latin cucurbita, “gourd, cupping glass.” Despite the similar spelling, it remains uncertain whether cucurbita is related to cucumis, “cucumber.” What is certain is that cucurbita, following several irregular sound changes, is the source of both courgette, a British alternative name for zucchini, and gourd, a term for fruits such as pumpkins and squash. Cucurbit was first recorded in English in the late 14th century. EXAMPLE OF CUCURBIT USED IN A SENTENCE To welcome guests in the fall season, the inn had arranged cucurbits of all shapes, sizes, and colors along their walkways.

Kreplach, “stuffed noodle turnovers,” is a borrowing of Yiddish kreplech (also transliterated as kreplakh, kreplekh), which is the plural of krepl, “meat dumpling.” The majority of words in Yiddish come from varieties of German, and krepl is no exception to this trend; it is related to standard German Krapfen and dialectal German Kräppel, “doughnut, fritter.” The source of all three words appears to be an Old High German word for “hook,” after the shape of the pastry. Following a long chain of borrowings across languages and shifts in meaning, this same Old High German root is the ultimate origin of English grape, which makes a meal of kreplach and wine etymologically appropriate. Kreplach was first recorded in English in the early 1890s. EXAMPLE OF KREPLACH USED IN A SENTENCE Similar to wontons, kreplach are savory, appetite-satisfying dumplings that add an extra kick of flavor to hearty soup.

Olfaction contains two Latin roots: ol-, “to smell,” and fact-, “to make, do.” Ol- is a variation of od-, which is found in odor and deodorant. The change from d to l happened with several Latin words over time, which is also how the older word dingua, “tongue, speech,” evolved into Classical Latin lingua, as in bilingual, linguistics, and linguine—yes, the tongue-shaped pasta. Olfaction was first recorded in English in the 1840s. EXAMPLE OF OLFACTION USED IN A SENTENCE The farmer found that her pigs didn't need any training to help hunt truffles because they had a natural passion for olfaction. FUN FACT ABOUT OLFACTION Humans have about six million olfactory receptors in their noses. Dogs have 300 million, which explains why their sniffers are better! Learn more fun facts at the Museum of Science.

Dolma, “a dish of stuffed vegetables,” is a loanword from Turkish, in which dolma means “something filled, filling.” Turkish dolma, in turn, comes from the verb dolmak, “to stuff, fill, be full.” Though it is spoken in Europe, Turkish belongs not to the Indo-European language family (along with English, Greek, and Hindi) but rather to the Turkic family, along with Azerbaijani, Kazakh, and Yakut. For more on the Turkic language family, check out our recent Words of the Day barchan and yurt. Dolma was first recorded in English in the late 1880s. EXAMPLE OF DOLMA USED IN A SENTENCE If stuffing a Thanksgiving turkey is too much work, dolma’s use of hollow vegetables and grape leaves makes it an enticing alternative.