Word of the Day
More about mauka
Mauka is from Hawaiian, comprising ma-, indicating direction, and uka, meaning “inland, upland.” The opposite direction of mauka is Word of the Day makai. Both mauka and makai show the influence of natural geographic features on the Hawaiian language. Mauka was first recorded in English in the mid-1870s.
EXAMPLE OF MAUKA USED IN A SENTENCE
The ancient trail ran mauka, gradually climbing the many slopes of the Mauna Loa volcano.
fioritura
noun
the ornamentation of a melody, often improvised by the performer, as in Italian opera during the 18th century.
More about fioritura
Fioritura is a borrowing from Italian that literally means “floweriness” and ultimately comes from Latin flōs, flōr-, “flower.” L in Latin often becomes Italian i, which we see in the Italian borrowings piano (from Latin plānus, “plain”) and piazza (from Latin plātea, “courtyard”). Fioritura was first recorded in English around 1840.
EXAMPLE OF FIORITURA USED IN A SENTENCE
In an attempt to wow the audience, the opera singer added several fioriture to each verse she sang.
reboant
adjective
resounding or reverberating loudly.
More about reboant
Reboant comes from Latin re-, “back, again,” and boāre, “to cry aloud.” Boāre is either related to or derived from Ancient Greek boân, of the same meaning, and these words may be of onomatopoeic origin, imitating the sounds of a cry. Though not related to reboant, English boohoo was formed in roughly the same way. Reboant was first recorded in English in the 1820s.
EXAMPLE OF REBOANT USED IN A SENTENCE
Her reboant calls of “Echo!” created a cacophony in the cave.