Word of the Day
incunabula
[ in-kyoo-nab-yuh-luh ]
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plural noun
the earliest stages or first traces of anything.
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Why Dictionary.com chose incunabula
More about incunabula
- Incunabula was first recorded in 1815鈥�25.
- Incunabula comes from Latin and means variously 鈥渢he straps holding a baby in a cradle,” “earliest home,” or “birthplace.鈥�
- Incunabula also refers to “books produced in the earliest stages (before 1501) of printing from movable type.”
- In that sense, incunabula has the singular form incunabulum.
EXAMPLES OF INCUNABULA
- The discovery of crude stone tools marked the incunabula of human civilization.
- The faded photographs from the 1800s are cherished incunabula of our family history.
SYNONYM OF THE DAY
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Today's Word of the Day was chosen by R.L. Stine!
macabre
[ muh-kah-bruh, -kahb ]
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adjective
gruesome and horrifying; ghastly; horrible.
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Why R.L. Stine chose macabre
More about macabre
- Macabre was first recorded in English in 1400鈥�50.
- Macabre comes from French, most likely from the phrase danse (de) 惭补肠补产谤茅, “dance of death.”
- Danse (de) 惭补肠补产谤茅, of uncertain origin, refers to a symbolic dance in which Death, represented as a skeleton, leads people or skeletons to their grave.
EXAMPLES OF MACABRE
- Halloween decorations adorned the front yard, creating a delightfully macabre atmosphere.
- The artist’s eerie paintings captured the macabre beauty of decay and darkness.
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Why Dictionary.com chose lekker
More about lekker
- Lekker comes from Afrikaans, a creole language spoken in South Africa with roots from Dutch.
- Lekker is also a word in Dutch, meaning “tasty,” which is related to the Dutch verb likken, “to lick.”
- Lekker was first attested in South African English around 1900.
EXAMPLES OF LEKKER
- They had a lekker time dancing the night away at the lively South African club.
- The warm sunshine and cool breeze made our beach picnic absolutely lekker.
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