Word of the Day
bazaar
noun
a marketplace or shopping quarter, especially one in the Middle East.
More about bazaar
Bazaar, “a marketplace,” comes via Italian bazarro from Persian bāzār, “market.” The bā- part of this term (earlier wā-, vaha-) likely comes from a root meaning “to buy, sell” and is a distant relative of Latin venum, “for sale” (compare venal and vendor), while the -zār element (earlier -carana) may come from the same movement-related root as found in chakra (from Sanskrit), cycle (from Ancient Greek), and wheel (from Old English). Take care not to confuse bazaar with bizarre, “unusual, odd,” from Italian bizzarro, “quick to anger,” of uncertain origin. Bazaar was first recorded in English in the 1590s.
EXAMPLE OF BAZAAR USED IN A SENTENCE
Merchants came from far and wide, trekking miles across the mountains and deserts, to sell their wares at the bazaar.
Samhain
noun
a festival of the ancient Celts, held around November 1 to celebrate the beginning of winter.
More about Samhain
Samhain, “an ancient Celtic winter festival,” is a borrowing from Irish Gaelic. In Irish Gaelic, the consonant pair mh is often pronounced as “oo” or “wuh,” which is why the standard English pronunciation of Samhain is “sah-win”—and, unlike what certain supernatural-themed TV series have claimed, is not “sam-heyn.” Samhain comes from Old Irish samain, which some linguists have proposed is a distant relative of English summer. Though it may be folk etymology, a similar proposal is that samain comprises Old Irish sam, “summer” (compare modern Irish Gaelic samhradh), and perhaps fuin, “setting, end.” Perhaps instead of a summery connection, samain comes from a root meaning “together” or, by extension, “assembly, gathering.” Samhain was first recorded in English in the late 1880s.
EXAMPLE OF SAMHAIN USED IN A SENTENCE
As the nights grew longer and chillier in Ireland, though snow had yet to fall, the winter festival Samhain was fast approaching.
preternatural
adjective
out of the ordinary course of nature; exceptional or abnormal.
More about preternatural
Preternatural, “out of the ordinary course of nature,” comes from Medieval Latin praeternātūrālis, of the same meaning, which is based on the Latin phrase praeter nātūram, “beyond nature.” Praeter, “beyond,” is the comparative of prae, “before,” giving praeter the literal sense of “more before,” and it appears in English as the element preter- in words such as preterit (“gone beyond”). Nātūram is the direct object of nātūra, “nature, conditions of birth, quality,” which is based on the verb nāscī (stem nāt-), “to be born.” Nāscī, in turn, is the source of cognate, innate, nascent, native, prenatal, puny, renaissance, and the name Natalie. Preternatural was first recorded in English in the 1570s.
EXAMPLE OF PRETERNATURAL USED IN A SENTENCE
The artist had a preternatural knack for using color, texture, and shading to create haunting images.