Word of the Day
aurora
noun
a radiant emission from the upper atmosphere that occurs sporadically over the middle and high latitudes of both hemispheres in the form of luminous bands, streamers, or the like.
Why the Museum of Science chose aurora
To find out, watch this video from science communicator Alex Dainis, PhD.
Learn more at the Museum of Science.
More about aurora
Aurora comes from Latin aurōra, “dawn,” which was also the name of the Roman goddess of sunrise. Aurōra has two distant and unexpected relatives in English: east and Easter, both of which originally referred to the direction of the sunrise. In the context of lights in the sky, aurora was first recorded in English in the early 18th century.
EXAMPLE OF AURORA USED IN A SENTENCE
Because of that year’s strong solar wind, numerous aurorae glowed and danced in the winter sky.
quadrivial
adjective
having four ways or roads meeting in a point.
More about quadrivial
In quadrivial, the quadri- element is a form of Latin quattuor, “four,” while -vial comes from Latin via, “way.” Quattuor is the source of French quatre, Italian quattro, Portuguese quatro, Romanian patru, and Spanish cuatro, all meaning “four.” Meanwhile, via is the source of trivial and viaduct as well as convey and voyage. Quadrivial was first recorded in English around the turn of the 15th century.
EXAMPLE OF QUADRIVIAL USED IN A SENTENCE
The complicated quadrivial intersection had caused so many traffic accidents that the city eventually closed it off to cars entirely.
cakeage
noun
a fee charged by a restaurant for serving a cake brought in from outside.
More about cakeage
Cakeage is modeled on corkage, which is a fee charged when patrons bring their own wine or liquor to a restaurant. Cake ultimately comes from Old Norse kaka, which makes cakeage a distant relative of the Words of the Day krumkake and lebkuchen. Cakeage is one of the recent additions to Dictionary.com.
EXAMPLE OF CAKEAGE USED IN A SENTENCE
The server levied a $10 fee for cakeage when the dinner party host revealed their own platter of jelly rolls.