Word of the Day
gul
noun
a large octagonal design derived from the shape of a rose, a motif on rugs.
More about gul
Gul, “a rose-shaped design,” is a short word with a long history. The term is a loanword from classical Persian gul, “rose.” Thanks to a series of sound changes, gul comes from an ancient Iranian root, warda-, that may have been borrowed into Ancient Greek as wrodon, later rhódon, “rose,” and then into Latin as rosa. This flowery root appears in English rose, rhododendron, and even julep, but be careful—despite the resemblance, it is not the source of the Word of the Day rosolio. Gul was first recorded in English in the 1810s.
EXAMPLE OF GUL USED IN A SENTENCE
The carpet’s ornate central gul caught the interior designer’s eye.
eruct
verb
to belch, as gas from the stomach.
Why the Museum of Science chose eruct
To find out, watch this video about from science communicator, Alex Dainis, PhD.
Learn more fun facts at the Museum of Science.
More about eruct
Eruct comes from the Latin verb ērūgere, “to belch out, discharge noisily.” Not surprisingly, the -ruct part of eruct is distantly related to English reek, “to smell bad.” While reek is of Old English origin (and therefore more than 1000 years old), eruct was first recorded in English in the 1660s. Read more about this medical term.
EXAMPLE OF ERUCT USED IN A SENTENCE
The unlucky photographer missed the perfect shot when he eructed and bumped the camera out of focus.
repristinate
verb
to restore to the first or original state or condition.
More about repristinate
Repristinate, “to restore to the first or original state or condition,” is formed from the adjective pristine, with the prefix re-, “back, again,” and the suffix -ate. Pristine comes from Latin pristinus, “early,” which belongs to a small family of Latin words relating to coming before something. Words in this family include prae (“before”), prior and prius (“former,” literally “more before”), and prīmus (“first,” literally “most before”). To see these Latin roots in action today, check out the Words of the Day prefatory, preternatural, and primaveral. Repristinate was first recorded in English in the 1650s.
EXAMPLE OF REPRISTINATE USED IN A SENTENCE
In an effort to attract wildlife, the environmentalists began repristinating the park, bulldozing buildings and planting trees to remove the impact of humans.