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Word of the day

linguaphile

[ ling-gwuh-fahyl ]

noun

a language and word lover.

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More about linguaphile

Linguist has existed in English since the 16th century. It means “one who is adept at learning and using foreign languages; one who is a student of language or linguistics; a translator or interpreter.” Linguaphile has a somewhat different meaning: “one who loves words or languages.” The originally Greek suffix -phile (“lover of”) is completely naturalized in English. Lingua in Latin means “tongue, language”; its Old Latin form was dingua, from Proto-Indo-European dṇghwā, which is also the source of Germanic (English) tongue, and of Celtic (Old Irish) teng, Baltic inžũ-, and Slavic (Polish) język (with Baltic and Slavic loss of initial d-; ę represents a nasalized vowel). Linguaphile entered English in the late 20th century.

how is linguaphile used?

The collection has so many good passages — whole paragraphs that move into pages with never a misstep — that any linguaphile could spend a great afternoon in a little spasm of dazzle.

Robin Romm, "Baser Instincts," New York Times, July 19, 2013

In the story “Entourage,” a linguaphile travels to Poland, Denmark, Germany, Turkey, and more, collecting suitcases full of books in their original languages.

Nathan Scott McNamara, "Everything Was a Fake," Los Angeles Review of Books, June 8, 2018
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Word of the day

patzer

[ paht-ser, pat- ]

noun

a casual, amateurish chess player.

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More about patzer

Patzer was first recorded in 1955–60. It is probably from German Patzer “bungler,” equivalent to patz(en) “to bungle” (compare Austrian dialect Patzen “stain, blot,” patzen “to make a stain”).

how is patzer used?

Anatoly Karpov, the champion before Kasparov, once said the only difference between a prodigy and a patzer was how far into the future a player could look.

Mitch Silver, The Bookworm, 2018

You’re a patzer. Look that up in your dictionary.

Mark Coggins, The Immortal Game, 2006
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Word of the day

brightwork

[ brahyt-wurk ]

noun

polished metal parts, as on a ship or automobile.

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More about brightwork

Brightwork is an Americanism dating back to 1835–45.

how is brightwork used?

One other mode of passing time while in port was cleaning and polishing your bright-work; for it must be known that, in men-of-war, every sailor has some brass or steel of one kind or other to keep in high order …

Herman Melville, White Jacket; or, The World in a Man-of-War, 1850

Under the unblinking gaze of the sun, windshields blazed and brightwork gleamed.

Dean Koontz, The Husband, 2006
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