Word of the Day
netsuke
noun
a small figure of ivory, wood, metal, or ceramic, originally used as a buttonlike fixture on a man's sash, from which small personal belongings were hung.
More about netsuke
Netsuke “a small figure used on a man’s sash” is a loanword from Japanese that is equivalent to ne, “root,” combined with tsukeru, “to attach.” In English, the Hepburn system is widely used for transliterating Japanese into the Roman alphabet, and one feature of this system is that it romanizes Japanese vowels using their counterparts in Romance languages such as Italian and Spanish. The one Japanese vowel that differs substantially from its closest Romance equivalent is u; Japanese u is pronounced as “oo” in boot but with the lips unrounded—similar to English “oo,” as in book. In certain syllables, the u is voiceless, which sounds in English as if there is no vowel at all. This is why Japanese netsuke is typically pronounced in English variously as “net-skey,” “net-suh-key,” “net-soo-key,” or “net-soo-key.” Netsuke was first recorded in English in the early 1880s.
EXAMPLE OF NETSUKE USED IN A SENTENCE
He had left behind his favorite sash with a two-horned dragon netsuke on it, making everyone worry about his swift departure.
Ganymede
noun
the largest moon of the planet Jupiter.
Why the Museum of Science chose Ganymede
Ganymede is not only the largest of Jupiter's moons, it's also the largest moon in our Solar System! To find out more about Ganymede, watch this video from science communicator, Alex Dainis, PhD.
Learn more fun facts at the Museum of Science.
More about Ganymede
Ganymede is named for a teenage boy in Greek mythology whom the gods chose, because of his beauty, to be their cup-bearer. One possibility is that Ganymede comes from the Greek words gánymai, “to be glad,” and mḗdea, “art, counsel, plans.” The second of these elements is also the origin of numerous names of Greek origin that contain med-, such as Archimedes and Medea. Ganymede was first recorded in English in the 1550s.
EXAMPLE OF GANYMEDE USED IN A SENTENCE
Though Galileo discovered Ganymede, his telescope was far too weak to detect the craters and ice that cover the moon’s surface.
xeriscaping
noun
environmental design of residential and park land using various methods for minimizing the need for water use.
More about xeriscaping
Xeriscaping, “environmental design based on minimal water use,” is based on xeric, “of a dry environment,” on the pattern of landscaping. Xeric comes from Ancient Greek xērós, “dry,” which resembles English sere, “dry,” and the Word of the Day rizzar, but this resemblance is purely coincidental. Though landscape comes from the Dutch equivalents of land and -ship, landscaping was falsely analyzed as land compounded with “scaping,” with a sense roughly like “aesthetic improvement of a space,” and combined with xeri- to form today’s word. A similar phenomenon happened with hamburger, which literally means “of Hamburg” but was falsely analyzed as ham compounded with “burger,” with a sense roughly like “patty on a bun,” and combined with cheese to form cheeseburger. Xeriscaping was first recorded in English in the early 1980s.
EXAMPLE OF XERISCAPING USED IN A SENTENCE
Xeriscaping transformed their rugged yard into an oasis.