Word of the Day

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.

Diasporic “of or relating to any group that has been dispersed outside its traditional homeland” is formed from the Ancient Greek noun diasporá “scattering, dispersion,” from the preposition diá “through, across” and the noun sporá “sowing, seed,” the latter from the verb speírein “to sow.” This verb comes from the Proto-Indo-European root sper- “to strew,” which is also the source of English spread, spritz, and sprout as well as Ancient Greek spérma “seed” (compare sperm) and sporás “strewn, scattered” (compare sporadic). Another possible cognate of diasporic is Latin spargere “to scatter,” the source of words such as aspersion, disperse, and sparse. Diasporic was first recorded in English in the early 1800s.