Word of the Day
steppe
noun
an extensive plain, especially one without trees.
More about steppe
Steppe, “an extensive, treeless plain,” is a borrowing by way of either French or German from Russian step’, of unknown origin. In the English transliteration of Russian step’, the apostrophe (’) represents the Cyrillic letter (ь), known to the Russians as myágkiĭ znak, “soft sign.” This indicates that the consonant immediately before it is palatalized, or pronounced with the tongue against the hard palate, adding a slight “yuh” to the consonant. Though English doesn’t use palatalization quite as Russian does, this phenomenon is still somewhat visible in words such as assume, which some pronounce as “uh–soom” and others as “uh–syoom.” Steppe was first recorded in English circa 1670.
EXAMPLE OF STEPPE USED IN A SENTENCE
The animals ventured south across the steppe to find a warmer home for the coming winter.
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.
