Word of the Day
precocity
noun
the state of or tendency to be flowering, fruiting, or ripening early, as plants or fruit.
More about precocity
Precocity, “the state of ripening early,” ultimately comes from Latin praecox, “early ripening,” from the verb praecoquere, “to bake early, ripen early.” The prae- element means “before” and is the ancestor of English pre-; Latin ae often becomes English e, as we also saw in the Word of the Day preternatural. The verb coquere, “to cook,” is the source of numerous words in English, whether from Latin directly (concoct), by way of French (biscuit, charcuterie, cuisine), via Italian (ricotta, terra cotta), through Old English (cook, kitchen), or using another route entirely (apricot). Precocity was first recorded in English in the 1630s.
EXAMPLE OF PRECOCITY USED IN A SENTENCE
After centuries of hybridizing the plant, the strawberry is now widely known for its precocity.
jamboree
noun
any large gathering with a partylike atmosphere.
More about jamboree
Jamboree, “any large gathering with a partylike atmosphere,” is an Americanism of unknown origin. Though the term is often associated with the Scouts, its appearance in English predates the Scout Movement by about 40 years. One proposal is that jamboree is an elaboration of jam in the sense “a mass of people or things pressed tightly together,” perhaps on the pattern of the recent Word of the Day shivaree. Note that the sense “a gathering of jazz musicians” of jam isn’t attested until the late 1920s, so this definition could not be the root behind jamboree, which was first recorded in English in the early 1860s.
EXAMPLE OF JAMBOREE USED IN A SENTENCE
The 48-hour period that Boxing Day, Christmas, and Kwanzaa all share is ample cause for celebration, but this year’s overlap with Hanukkah as well is what warrants a nationwide jamboree!
luminaria
noun
a Christmas lantern consisting of a lighted candle set in sand inside a paper bag.
More about luminaria
Luminaria, “a lantern consisting of a candle set in sand inside a paper bag,” is a borrowing from Spanish, from Latin lūmināria, which is the plural of lūmināre, “lamp.” Though it isn’t common for plural nouns to become singular (or vice versa) after borrowing into another language, it isn’t unheard of, either; as we learned from the Word of the Day fomites, the reverse happened with cherry and pea. The source of lūmināre is lūmen (stem lūmin-), “light,” which is the source of French lumière, Italian lume, and Romanian lumină, all meaning “light,” as well as Spanish lumbre, “fire, fuel, combustible material.” Luminaria was first recorded in English in the late 1940s.
EXAMPLE OF LUMINARIA USED IN A SENTENCE
As they lit each luminaria that lined the walkway, they hoped passersby would find solace and joy in the warm glow.