Word of the Day
horchata
noun
a chilled drink of Spain and Latin America, made from rice milk or any of various nut milks, sweetened and typically flavored with cinnamon or vanilla.
More about horchata
Horchata, “a chilled, sweetened, nut or rice milk-based drink,” is a loanword from Spanish that ultimately comes from Latin hordeum, “barley,” the key ingredient in a similar beverage. Linguists assume that, unlike most Spanish words of Latin origin, horchata did not come directly from Latin and instead followed a path through another Mediterranean language such as Italian, Mozarabic, or Vulgar Latin. A similar route produced French orgeat, which was once made of barley but now contains almonds instead. Horchata was first recorded in English in the 1820s.
EXAMPLE OF HORCHATA USED IN A SENTENCE
The family made multiple pitchers of horchata to be shared at their summer picnic.
germinant
adjective
beginning to grow or develop.
Why the Museum of Science chose germinant
To find out, watch this video about germinant from science communicator, Alex Dainis, PhD.
Learn more fun facts at the Museum of Science.
More about germinant
Germinant, “beginning to grow or develop,” comes from the Latin verb germināre, “to bud, sprout,” which comes from the noun germen, “shoot, sprout.” Germen is also the source of germ, which originally referred to a bud or seed and later came to refer to microorganisms as well. Despite the similar spelling, germen is not related to the name of the country Germany, which is of uncertain ultimate origin. Germinant was first recorded in English around the year 1600.
EXAMPLE OF GERMINANT USED IN A SENTENCE
A small cluster of germinant dandelions sprouted underneath the downspout.
eristic
adjective
pertaining to controversy or disputation; controversial.
More about eristic
Eristic, “pertaining to controversy,” ultimately comes from Ancient Greek éris, “strife, discord,” which is also the origin of Eris, the Greek goddess of discord who instigated the Trojan War. In keeping with the tradition of naming astronomical bodies after mythological figures, the International Astronomical Union recognized Eris as the name of a dwarf planet first discovered on January 5, 2005. The noun éris is of unknown origin, and appropriate enough, there is ample controversy over the several proposals to link it to other Indo-European terms. Eristic was first recorded in English in the 1630s.
EXAMPLE OF ERISTIC USED IN A SENTENCE
By claiming that he disliked last year’s widely beloved Best Picture winner, the film critic brought an eristic perspective to the conversation.