Word of the Day
consanguineous
adjective
having the same ancestry or descent; related by blood.
More about consanguineous
Consanguineous comes from Latin con-, “together, with,” and sanguis, “blood.” Some linguists have connected sanguis to the rather unsavory Latin noun saniēs, “ichor, discharged fluid.” Sanguis is also the source of the Words of the Day sanguine and sanguivorous. William Shakespeare introduced consanguineous into English in his play Twelfth Night, written in 1602.
EXAMPLE OF CONSANGUINEOUS USED IN A SENTENCE
Though they called themselves blood brothers, the friends were in fact distant, albeit consanguineous, cousins.
More about bloviate
Bloviate is strongly associated with President Warren G. Harding, who popularized the term but did not invent it. Bloviate is an alteration of blow in the sense “to boast,” as in blow-hard, perhaps on the pattern of abbreviate, deviate, or obviate. Bloviate was first recorded in English in the early 1850s.
EXAMPLE OF BLOVIATE USED IN A SENTENCE
When the poll revealed a high demand for shows relevant to modern audiences, the TV executive bloviated, insisting that the old ways were the best.
bahuvrihi
noun
a compound noun or adjective in which the first word describes the person or object denoted by the second.
More about bahuvrihi
Bahuvrihi is from a Sanskrit word that literally means “having much rice.” In this rather meta way, bahuvrihi is itself a bahuvrihi. Sanskrit vrīhi and English rice may not look much alike, but they are indeed distantly related. Bahuvrihi was first recorded in English in the 1840s.
EXAMPLE OF BAHUVRIHI USED IN A SENTENCE
It was challenging to decide which bahuvrihi best described the hotheaded, dimwitted loudmouth.