Word of the Day
qiviut
noun
the soft, dense, light-brown woolly undercoat of the musk ox, used in making fabrics.
More about qiviut
Qiviut is the plural of qiviuq, “down, underhair.” It’s a borrowing from one of the Inuit languages, as are Words of the Day angakok and anorak. The letter q in Inuit languages is pronounced farther back in the mouth than the q in English, producing a sound about halfway between English k and French r. Give it a try! Qiviut was first recorded in English in the late 1950s.
EXAMPLE OF QIVIUT USED IN A SENTENCE
The thick lining of qiviut inside his coat kept him warm during his morning walk.
pluvial
adjective
of or relating to rain, especially much rain; rainy.
Why the Museum of Science chose pluvial
To find out, watch this video about pluvial from science communicator Alex Dainis, PhD.
Learn more at the Museum of Science.
More about pluvial
Pluvial comes from the Latin pluvia, “rain.” Another word for “rain” in Latin is imber, but while pluvia is the source of many modern Romance words for “rain” (such as French pluie, Italian pioggia, and Spanish lluvia), imber has barely any related words today. Pluvial was first recorded in English in the 1650s.
EXAMPLE OF PLUVIAL USED IN A SENTENCE
The burst of pluvial weather left mud and puddles in its wake.
prolegomenon
noun
a preliminary discussion; introductory essay; a prologue.
More about prolegomenon
Prolegomenon comes from the Ancient Greek prolegómenon, literally “being said beforehand.” The -legómenon 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.