Word of the Day

Malic “pertaining to apples” comes by way of French from Latin mālum “apple." Mālum, in turn, is an adaptation of Ancient Greek mêlon, which refers specifically to apples or generally to any tree fruit and is also the source of English melon. Similarly, though mālum survives today as Italian mela “apple,” while the French word for “apple,” pomme, comes from Latin pōmum “fruit.” Portuguese maçã and Spanish manzana derive instead from the Latin term Mattiāna (mala) “(apples) of Matius,” which refers to Gaius Matius, a Roman botanist and friend of Julius Caesar. Though the words are almost identical, Latin mālum is not related to Latin malus “bad,” meaning that the use of apples to represent forbidden fruit is a clever pun. Malic was first recorded in English in the 1790s. EXAMPLE OF MALIC USED IN A SENTENCE The Evil Queen’s temptation of Snow White with a poisoned apple is a perfect example of malic malice.

Petrichor is based on two Ancient Greek words: pétros, meaning “stone,” and īchṓr, the name of an ethereal fluid that the gods of Greek mythology had instead of blood in their veins. This scent results from certain types of rocks and soils releasing a plant-derived oil during rainfall. Scientists Isabel Joy Bear and Richard G. Thomas coined petrichor in 1964. EXAMPLE OF PETRICHOR USED IN A SENTENCE After weeks without a single drop of rain, petrichor hung in the air after this morning’s showers. FUN FACT ABOUT PETRICHOR Though often confused with the smell that ozone causes before rainfall, petrichor actually refers to the earthy aroma during rain. Learn more fun facts at the Museum of Science.

Aegrotat, “a graduate degree given because of illness,” is a British English term that was borrowed from Latin, in which aegrōtat literally means “(a person) is sick.” Unlike English, Latin typically uses -re to mark the infinitive, therefore, the infinitive counterpart of aegrōtat is aegrōtāre, meaning “to be sick,” which comes from aeger, “sick.” Despite the similar spelling, aeger is not related to Latin ager (stem agr-), “field,” or the recent Word of the Day eagre. Aegrotat was first recorded in English in the early 1860s. Learn more about the differences between British English and American English here. EXAMPLE OF AEGROTAT USED IN A SENTENCE With an unusually nasty flu making its way around the university, the vice-chancellor granted aegrotats to several sick students who were otherwise set to graduate midyear.

Shillelagh, “club, stick” has two possible origins. Though it may not seem like one at first, shillelagh may be an example of a toponym, or a word derived from a placename. While English has no shortage of food-related toponyms, this origin of shillelagh is not found in the kitchen. Instead, shillelagh comes from the Irish town name Síol Éalaigh, which is located in County Wicklow, Ireland, next to a forest that once provided wood for the clubs. In the name Síol Éalaigh, síol means “seed, descendant,” while Éalaigh is a form of the given name Éalach. Alternatively, shillelagh may derive instead from Irish Gaelic sail, “willow” (compare English sallow), and iall, “strap, thong.” Shillelagh was first recorded in English in the 1670s. EXAMPLE OF SHILLELAGH USED IN A SENTENCE Despite its simple appearance as a curved or knobbly cane, the shillelagh is a centerpiece of an Irish variety of martial arts.

Arrivederci, “goodbye for the present,” is a loanword from Italian composed of several elements. The first of these is a, “to,” from Latin ad. The second element is ri-, “back, again,” from Latin re-, which is found in the recent Words of the Day refractory, revenant, and revitalize. Next is vedere, “to see,” which is also an element in the Word of the Day belvedere. Arrivederci is almost an exact cognate of French au revoir; a key difference is the final additional element in Italian, ci, “us, each other.” In this way, while French au revoir literally means “to the seeing again,” Italian arrivederci literally means “to seeing each other again.” Arrivederci was first recorded in English circa 1670. EXAMPLE OF ARRIVEDERCI USED IN A SENTENCE In the closing minutes of the last class of the semester, the professor bade her students a warm “arrivederci” and began thinking about her vacation.