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Word of the Day

Word of the day

atelier

[ at-l-yey, at-l-yey ]

noun

a workshop or studio, especially of an artist, artisan, or designer.

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More about atelier

The English noun atelier, not quite naturalized, comes from French atelier “workshop,” from Old French astelier “pile of wood chips, workshop, carpenter’s workshop,” a derivative of Old French astele “chip,” which comes from Late Latin astella “splinter,” a variant of astula, assula “splinter, chip,” diminutives of Latin assis, axis “plank, board.” Atelier entered English in the 19th century.

how is atelier used?

Upon his arrival she began by introducing him to her atelier and making a sketch of him.

Kate Chopin, The Awakening, 1899

The secret atelier is the pezzo forte of the place, a beautifully cluttered warren of objects, art pieces and ephemera.

Chiara Barzini, "The Secret Atelier Behind a Roman Boutique," New York Times Style Magazine, May 16, 2018
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Word of the day

tsuris

[ tsoor-is, tsur- ]

noun

Slang. trouble; woe.

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More about tsuris

Tsuris is from Yiddish tsures, tsores. This, in turn came from Hebrew ṣarā, plural ṣarōth meaning “troubles.” Tsuris entered English in the 1970s.

how is tsuris used?

Graham, I want Jack’s work in the show, don’t give me any tsuris on this.

Marc Olden, Wellington's, 1977

Initially, the series only broadly winked at the reasons for Jack’s slow-burning tsuris.

Manohla Dargis, "Patriarch Faces Future: Who to Lead Nutty Clan When He Is Gone?" New York Times, December 21, 2010
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Word of the day

misinformation

[ mis-in-fer-mey-shuhn ]

noun

false information that is spread, regardless of whether there is intent to mislead: In the chaotic hours after the earthquake, a lot of misinformation was reported in the news.

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More about misinformation

Misinformation simply means wrong or false information; it does not necessarily imply deception or lying. Indeed, it is often difficult to determine from the context whether the misinformation is simply a mistake or a deliberate lie. Misinformation is a compound formed from the Germanic prefix mis– (also miss-) “wrong, bad.” (Mis– does not occur in Latin or Greek: in Latin misinformation would be something like mala nuntiātiō; the Greek would be kakḕ angelía.) Information comes ultimately from Late Latin informātiō (stem informātiōn-), one of whose meanings is “instruction, teaching.” Disinformation on the other hand, is deliberately false and meant to deceive. English disinformation is a calque, a loan translation of Russian dezinformátsiya, which is based on the French verb désinform(er) “to misinform.” Misinformation entered English in the 16th century (disinformation entered English in the mid-20th century).

how is misinformation used?

Facebook and other social platforms have been fighting online misinformation and hate speech for two years.

Barbara Ortutay, AP News, November 3, 2018

We’ve got Pinkerton so full of misinformation now that he truly thinks General Lee has a million men under arms, and that we’re fixing to kidnap Lincoln.

Gore Vidal, Lincoln, 1984
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