Word of the Day

Suffrage “the right to vote” comes from Latin suffrāgium “voting tablet,” and though suffrage resembles suffer, the two are not completely related. While suffer comes from Latin sufferre “to endure,” suffrage is ultimately based on the verb suffrāgārī “to support.” These two Latin verbs share a prefix, the preposition sub “under” (which assimilates to suf- when followed by an f for easier pronunciation), but sufferre combines sub with ferre “to bear,” and the -frāgārī part of suffrāgārī is of uncertain origin. The most popular hypothesis is that -frāgārī is related to the verb frangere “to break,” which would make suffrage a relative of fracture, fragile, fragment, and frangible. Suffrage was first recorded in English in the late 14th century.

Liberation “the act of gaining equal rights” is adapted from Latin līberātiō “a setting free, a release,” which comes from the verb līberāre “to free” and, ultimately, the adjective līber “free, open, frank.” From here, there is the possibility for confusion, as the adjective līber “free,” the noun līber “child,” and the noun liber “book, bark” are all common words in Latin. Līber “free” is also the source of deliver, liberal, libertarian, and liberty, and it comes from an ancient root meaning “people”; compare the names Leopold (literally “bold people”) and Luther (“people army”). Līber “child” literally means “free one” and almost exclusively appears as plural līberī “children.” Meanwhile, liber “book” is the source of libel, library, and libretto, and it is unrelated to either līber. Take care not to confuse these nearly identical words! Liberation was first recorded in English in the early 15th century.

Galvanize “to startle into sudden activity” is adapted from French galvaniser, of the same meaning. The change from French s to English z reflects the spelling standards of modern English; while UK English has largely preserved the original s and uses galvanise, US English typically prefers the use of -ize in verbs—though there are exceptions such as advertise and advise. French galvaniser is the namesake of Luigi Galvani, an Italian physiologist who conducted experiments with electricity in the 18th century. Though there is no consensus on the source of the surname Galvani, one hypothesis is that it shares an origin with Gawain, the name of a knight of the Round Table, which likely comes from the Welsh word gwalch “hawk.” Galvanize was first recorded in English circa 1800.

Autonomy “freedom of the will” comes from Ancient Greek autonomía “independence,” which is based on the adjective autónomos “with laws of one’s own.” Autónomos, in turn, is a compound of the elements autós “self” and nómos “law, custom, management, regulation.” Autós should look all too familiar, as its stems aut- and auto- appear in English terms such as authentic (literally “done by oneself”), automatic (“thinking for oneself”), and autopsy (“seeing for oneself”). Meanwhile, nómos is also the ultimate source of the words astronomy (“star regulation”), Deuteronomy (“second law”), and economy (“household management”). Autonomy was first recorded in English circa 1620.

Draconian “unusually severe or cruel” is based on Latin Dracō (stem Dracōn-), plus the adjectival suffix -ian. In ancient Athens, a city-state that is now the capital of Greece, Draco (known to his fellow Athenians as Drákōn) was a statesman who was famous—or infamous—for the unusually harsh laws he enacted. The Latin common noun dracō means “dragon, serpent” and appears in the motto of the school Hogwarts, from the Harry Potter series: Dracō dormiēns nunquam tītillandus, meaning “A sleeping dragon must never be tickled.” Latin dracō, originally an adaptation of Ancient Greek drákōn, is the source of English dragon, dragoon, and drake. Draconian was first recorded in English in the 1810s.