Word of the Day
prolegomenon
noun
a preliminary discussion; introductory essay; a prologue.
More about prolegomenon
Prolegomenon comes from the Ancient Greek 辫谤辞濒别驳贸尘别苍辞苍, literally 鈥渂eing said beforehand.鈥� The -濒别驳贸尘别苍辞苍 element is closely related to several stems in English pertaining to counting, speech, and words, such as lect- (as in dialect), lex- (lexicon), and log- (catalog). Prolegomenon was first recorded in English around 1650.
EXAMPLE OF PROLEGOMENON USED IN A SENTENCE
A prolegomenon in The Fellowship of the Ring introduces readers to the nature and customs of hobbits.
More about clarsach
Clarsach is an adaptation of either the Irish Gaelic 肠濒谩颈谤蝉别补肠丑 or the Scottish Gaelic 肠濒脿谤蝉补肠丑, both meaning 鈥渉arp.鈥� These two words likely come from the Old Irish 肠濒谩谤, which variously means 鈥渂oard, plank鈥� or 鈥渢able, tablet.鈥� Clarsach may be related through Ancient Greek to clergy, cleric, clerk, and the name Clark. Clarsach was first recorded in English around 1805.
EXAMPLE OF CLARSACH USED IN A SENTENCE
The golden clarsach shines against a dark green background on the flag of Leinster.
vigesimal
adjective
of, relating to, or based on twenty.
More about vigesimal
Vigesimal comes from Latin 惫墨肠脓蝉颈尘耻蝉, 鈥渢wentieth.鈥� While English and its Germanic relatives base their words for 鈥渢wenty鈥� on a combination of 鈥渢wo鈥� and 鈥渢en,鈥� Latin 惫墨驳颈苍迟墨 is distantly related to Ancient Greek 别铆办辞蝉颈 (as in icosahedron, a twenty-sided figure) and Sanskrit 惫颈峁兣沘迟铆 (as in pachisi, a game in which twenty-five is the highest score). Vigesimal was first recorded in English in the 1650s.
EXAMPLE OF VIGESIMAL USED IN A SENTENCE
French now uses a vigesimal system for numbers over 60, representing 80 as 鈥�4 脳 20鈥� and 90 as 鈥�4 脳 20 + 10.鈥�