Word of the Day
coalesce
verb (used without object)
to unite so as to form one mass, community, etc.: The various groups coalesced into a crowd.
More about coalesce
The English verb coalesce ultimately comes from the Latin compound verb coalescere 鈥渢o grow together, combine,鈥� formed from co-, a variant of the prefix com– 鈥渢ogether, with,鈥� and the verb alescere 鈥渢o grow up, be nourished.鈥� Alescere is composed of the simple verb alere 鈥渢o nourish, suckle, feed,鈥� with the inchoative suffix –esc-, which indicates the beginning of an action (sometimes the suffix has lost its original meaning). Alere comes from the Latin root al– 鈥渢o nourish,鈥� from which Latin also derives alimentum 鈥渘ourishment鈥� (English aliment and alimentary), alumnus 鈥渇oster child, nursling” (English alumnus), 补濒颈尘艒苍颈耻尘 鈥渇ood, support, cost of support鈥� (English alimony), and alma m膩ter 鈥渘ourishing mother, kindly mother,鈥� which by the late 14th century came to refer specifically to universities. Coalesce entered English in the 16th century.
how is coalesce used?
Will the new generation of activists rising across the United States coalesce into a movement capable of uniting a deeply polarized country?
Most friend groups, however, seemed to coalesce around the segment of L.A. they were from, bonds formed through carpools and neighborhood functions rather than schoolyard commingling.
extenuate
verb (used with object)
to represent (a fault, offense, etc.) as less serious: to extenuate a crime.
More about extenuate
Extenuate comes from Latin 别虫迟别苍耻腻迟-, the past participle of the verb 别虫迟别苍耻腻谤别 鈥渢o make thin or narrow, whittle down, contract, reduce.鈥� The only common English meaning of extenuate, 鈥渢o represent a fault or offense as less serious,鈥� is an extended meaning of one of the Latin senses 鈥渢o diminish or lessen (in size, quantity, or degree).鈥� The root underlying 别虫迟别苍耻腻谤别 is the Latin adjective tenuis 鈥渢hin,鈥� a derivative of the very common Proto-Indo-European root ten-, tend-, ton-, 迟峁�– (and other variants) 鈥渢o stretch, extend, spin (cloth).鈥� The root appears in Latin 迟别苍脓谤别 鈥渢o hold in the hand, grasp,鈥� tendere 鈥渢o stretch out, offer鈥�; Sanskrit 迟补苍峁搕颈 鈥�(he) stretches, spins,鈥� 迟腻苍补– 鈥渢hread, tone鈥�; Greek 迟别铆苍别颈苍 鈥渢o stretch, pull tight,” and 迟贸苍辞蝉 鈥渢ension, sinew, cord, string, tension (in the voice), tone (of the voice).” The Germanic forms thunw– and thunni– yield the Old English verb thenian (also thennan) 鈥渢o stretch, spread out, bend (a bow),鈥� Old High German dennen 鈥渢o extend, stretch鈥� (German dehnen), the Old English adjective thynne 鈥渢hin,鈥� and German 诲眉苍苍 鈥渢丑颈苍.鈥� Extenuate entered English in the first half of the 16th century.
how is extenuate used?
Revelation of embryonic activity in the sixties does not extenuate crimes of more recent vintage, but they will show us how pervasive and dangerous our unconcern has been.
This was what no reasoning, no appeal to the calmer judgment, could ever, in his inmost thoughts, undo or extenuate.
emporium
noun
a large retail store, especially one selling a great variety of articles.
More about emporium
Emporium with its Latin ending –um still looks foreign. In Latin, emporium means 鈥渢rade center, business district, market town.鈥� The Latin word means something larger and more permanent than the Greek original 别尘辫贸谤颈辞苍 鈥渢rading station, trading post, entrep么t.鈥� 贰尘辫贸谤颈辞苍 is a derivative of 别尘辫辞谤铆补 鈥渃ommerce, trade, business,鈥� itself a derivative of 茅尘辫辞谤辞蝉 鈥減assenger on a ship, traveler, merchant, trade.鈥� The compound noun 茅尘辫辞谤辞蝉 breaks down into em-, a variant of en– 鈥渋n, on,鈥� and 辫贸谤辞蝉 鈥渨ay, passage, journey.鈥� 笔贸谤辞蝉 derives from the Proto-Indo-European root per-, por-, 辫峁�– 鈥渢o lead, pass, pass over.鈥� Per– is the source of English firth and fjord (both from Old Norse 蹿箩谦谤迟丑, inflectional stem firth-, from Germanic ferthuz 鈥渇ord鈥�). The variant por– is the source of Old English faran 鈥渢o go on a journey, get along” (English fare). The suffixed form por–eyo– forms the causative Germanic verb farjan 鈥渢o make go, lead,鈥� which becomes ferian in Old English and ferry in English. The variant 辫艞– forms the Latin nouns porta 鈥渄oor, gate,鈥� portus 鈥減ort, harbor,鈥� and the verb 辫辞谤迟腻谤别 鈥渢o carry, transport.鈥� Emporium entered English in the second half of the 16th century.
how is emporium used?
He sold everything in the emporium, from coffee to collar studs, camisoles to cuckoo clocks, candied sugar to collapsible top hats.
Following a stint as a window dresser at Luisa Via Roma, Florence鈥檚 famous fashion emporium, she relocated to Paris, learning tailoring from the French designer Myr猫ne de Pr茅monville ….