Word of the Day

Calash “​​a light vehicle seating two to four passengers” is an adaptation of French calèche, which is itself a borrowing by way of German from Czech kolesa “carriage,” related to kolo “wheel,” both from an ancient Slavic root meaning “wheel.” Because the Slavic languages constitute a branch of the Indo-European language family, Czech kolesa and kolo have relatives throughout Europe and southern Asia, from English wheel (Old English hwēol) and Ancient Greek kýklos “wheel, circle, ring” (compare English cycle and cyclo-) to Sanskrit cakra “wheel, circle” (borrowed into English as chakra) and Persian charkha (also transliterated as čarxe) “spinning wheel.” Check out the recent Word of the Day bazaar for more. Calash was first recorded in English in the 1660s. EXAMPLE OF CALASH USED IN A SENTENCE As the calash clattered over the slick, wet cobblestones, the passengers pulled down the folding top to keep the rain out.

Yeuk comes from Middle Dutch jeuken, which is also related to German jucken and Old English giccan (pronounced “yeet-chahn”), all of which mean “to itch.” A common trend in the history of the English language is for Old English gi-, when pronounced as “yee,” to lose the g eventually, which is why modern English has itch instead of “gitch” or “yitch.” Yeuk was first recorded in English at the turn of the 15th century. Satisfy your itch for more words with the medical term for itching. EXAMPLE OF YEUK USED IN A SENTENCE Steer clear of poison ivy leaves when you’re on a hike, or you may start yeuking for days on end! FUN FACT ABOUT YEUK Rubbing or lightly slapping a yeuk has the same feel-good effect as yeuking, without the risk of damage to the skin. Learn more fun facts at the Museum of Science.

Rhotacize, “to change a sound to an r,” is the verb form of rhotacism and is based on the Greek letter rho, on the pattern of iotacism. Similar to the recent Word of the Day muon, Ancient Greek rhô comes from Phoenician rōš, “head,” a cognate of the Hebrew letter rēsh. Phoenician rōš has relatives in several Afro-Asiatic languages, including Amharic ras, as in Rastafarian; Hebrew rōsh, as in Rosh Hashanah; and Arabic ra’s, as in Ra’s al Ghul, a comic supervillain whose name translates as “Head of the Demon.” All Ancient Greek words containing rho are transcribed in English with -rh- because the Greeks once pronounced the “ruh” sound with a “huh”-like breathiness called aspiration. Rhotacize was first recorded in English in the early 1960s. EXAMPLE OF RHOTACIZE USED IN A SENTENCE English speakers have permanently rhotacized many s and z sounds over the past 2,000 years, with ancient Germanic auso, haso, and wēz- becoming modern English ear, hare, and were.

Bazaar, “a marketplace,” comes via Italian bazarro from Persian bāzār, “market.” The bā- part of this term (earlier wā-, vaha-) likely comes from a root meaning “to buy, sell” and is a distant relative of Latin venum, “for sale” (compare venal and vendor), while the -zār element (earlier -carana) may come from the same movement-related root as found in chakra (from Sanskrit), cycle (from Ancient Greek), and wheel (from Old English). Take care not to confuse bazaar with bizarre, “unusual, odd,” from Italian bizzarro, “quick to anger,” of uncertain origin. Bazaar was first recorded in English in the 1590s. EXAMPLE OF BAZAAR USED IN A SENTENCE Merchants came from far and wide, trekking miles across the mountains and deserts, to sell their wares at the bazaar.

Samhain, “an ancient Celtic winter festival,” is a borrowing from Irish Gaelic. In Irish Gaelic, the consonant pair mh is often pronounced as “oo” or “wuh,” which is why the standard English pronunciation of Samhain is “sah-win”—and, unlike what certain supernatural-themed TV series have claimed, is not “sam-heyn.” Samhain comes from Old Irish samain, which some linguists have proposed is a distant relative of English summer. Though it may be folk etymology, a similar proposal is that samain comprises Old Irish sam, “summer” (compare modern Irish Gaelic samhradh), and perhaps fuin, “setting, end.” Perhaps instead of a summery connection, samain comes from a root meaning “together” or, by extension, “assembly, gathering.” Samhain was first recorded in English in the late 1880s. EXAMPLE OF SAMHAIN USED IN A SENTENCE As the nights grew longer and chillier in Ireland, though snow had yet to fall, the winter festival Samhain was fast approaching.