Word of the Day

Perilune “the point in a lunar orbit that is nearest to the moon” is a compound of the combining form peri- “about, around, near” and the element -lune “moon.” Peri-, from Ancient Greek perí “about, around,” is a common fixture in words related to closeness, such as perimeter and periphery, and in perilune, it is combined with -lune on the pattern of perigee “the point in an orbit that is nearest to the earth” (using Ancient Greek gaîa or gê “earth”). Unlike perigee, perilune features a Latin-origin element, -lune (from Latin lūna) to mean “moon”; if this element were derived instead from Ancient Greek selḗnē “moon” to better match perigee, we would be saying something like “periselene” instead! Perilune was first recorded in English in the late 1950s.

Autosomal “occurring on a chromosome other than one of the sex chromosomes” is the adjectival form of autosome “a chromosome other than a sex chromosome,” a compound of the combining forms auto- “self, same” and -some “body.” Auto- comes from Ancient Greek autós “self,” of uncertain ultimate origin, while -some comes from Ancient Greek sôma “body,” the stem of which is sōmat-, as in somatic. While sôma refers to a body generally, nekrós (as in necropolis and necrotic) refers specifically to a dead body. Autosomal was first recorded in English in the early 20th century.

Revitalize “to give new vitality or vigor to” is a compound of the prefix re- “again, back” and the verb vitalize “to give life to.” Vitalize, in turn, is formed from vital “of or relating to life” and the verbal suffix -ize. Vital, from Latin vītālis, comes from the Latin noun vīta “life,” which is derived from the same Proto-Indo-European root, gwei- “to live,” that is also the source of English quick (from Old English cwic “living”), Latin vīvere “to live” (as in vivacious and vivid), Ancient Greek bíos “life” (as in amphibian and biotic), and Ancient Greek zôion “animal” (as in protozoa and zodiac). Revitalize was first recorded in English in the late 1850s.

Golem “a figure constructed in the form of a human and endowed with life” is a borrowing by way of Yiddish goylem from Hebrew gōlem “embryo, larva, cocoon.” This Hebrew noun is a derivative of the verb l’galēm “to embody,” from the Semitic root glm “to cut, separate.” In Jewish folklore, a golem is a humanlike being created from raw material such as clay and brought to life to perform a specific duty or task. Golem was first recorded in English in the late 1890s.

Wynd “a narrow street or alley” is a Scots dialectal term derived from Old English gewind “winding path.” This Old English noun is related to the verbs wandrian, wendan, and windan (the sources of wander, wend, and wind in the sense “to proceed circuitously”). While the further etymology of these verbs is uncertain, hypotheses include a connection to the Proto-Indo-European root wei- “to turn, twist,” as explored further in the etymology for the recent Word of the Day iridescent. Wynd was first recorded in English around the turn of the 15th century.