Word of the Day
peri
noun
one of a large group of beautiful, fairylike beings of Persian mythology, represented as descended from fallen angels.
More about peri
Peri, “a fairylike being of Persian mythology,” comes from Persian parī, “fairy,” which evolved from pairikā, “witch,” in Avestan, a long-extinct language of southwestern Asia. Though p in most Indo-European languages tends to correspond to English f, peri is not related to fairy, which derives by way of Old French from Latin. However, it is interesting to note that, just as peri evolved in sense from “witch” to “fairy,” an earlier sense of fairy in Old French was “enchantment, witchcraft.” Peri was first recorded in English in the 1770s.
EXAMPLE OF PERI USED IN A SENTENCE
It caught his breath to see the peri slowly descending from the air, floating on its feathered wings.
rabble-rouse
verb
to stir up the emotions or prejudices of the public; agitate.
More about rabble-rouse
Rabble-rouse, “to stir up the public’s emotions,” is a back formation from rabble-rouser, which is a compound of the noun rabble, “a disorderly crowd,” and the verb rouse, “to stir to anger.” Rabble is of uncertain origin, but it may be related to Middle Dutch rabbelen, “to speak hurriedly.” An earlier sense of rouse was “to shake the feathers” and referred to hawks, and while the origin of rouse is equally uncertain, one hypothesis is a connection to Latin recūsāre, meaning “to demur, object,” which is the source of English recuse. Rabble-rouse was first recorded in English in the late 1950s.
EXAMPLE OF RABBLE-ROUSE USED IN A SENTENCE
Though at first its organizers were accused of mere rabble-rousing, the civil rights march evolved into a widely-celebrated parade.
retcon
verb
to later revise an established element of a fictional story.
More about retcon
Retcon, “to later revise (an established element of a fictional story),” is a shortening based on the first syllables in retroactive continuity. This type of shortening is called syllabic abbreviation, and other common examples in English include fro-yo (from frozen yogurt), hazmat (from hazardous material), and sitcom (from situation comedy). Ultimately, retroactive is from Latin retrō, “back, backward,” combined with agere (past participle stem āct-), “to do,” while continuity is formed from Latin con-, “with, together,” combined with tenēre (combining stem tin-), “to hold.” Retcon was first recorded in the early 1980s.
EXAMPLE OF RETCON USED IN A SENTENCE
Though the first season showed the doctor naming the family spaceship after her favorite Norse god, later seasons retconned this and gave all the ships that same name.