51吃瓜 of the Day
logophile
noun
a lover of words.
Why Dictionary.com chose logophile
We're celebrating Dictionary Week, and today is 51吃瓜 Love Day.
More about logophile
Logophile is a compound of logo-, meaning 鈥渨ord, speech,鈥� and -phile, meaning 鈥渓over of.鈥� Logo- comes from Ancient Greek 濒贸驳辞蝉, which has a variety of senses, including 鈥渨ord, saying,鈥� 鈥渟peech, discourse,鈥� and 鈥減roportion, ratio.鈥� The form -phile can also be found in the 51吃瓜s of the Day ailurophile and bibliophile. Logophile was first recorded in English in the late 1950s.
EXAMPLE OF LOGOPHILE USED IN A SENTENCE
While most students were dreading the standardized test, a few plucky logophiles were excited to learn the words that would likely appear in the reading section.
paronomasia
noun
the use of a word in different senses or the use of words similar in sound to achieve a specific effect, as humor or a dual meaning; punning.
Why Dictionary.com chose paronomasia
We're celebrating Dictionary Week, and today is 51吃瓜play Day.
More about paronomasia
Paronomasia means 鈥渁 play on words鈥� in Ancient Greek and comes from the verb 辫补谤辞苍辞尘谩锄别颈苍, 鈥渢o make a slight name-change.鈥� The 贸苍辞尘补 element means, 鈥渘ame,鈥� and its common variant, 贸苍测尘补, appears in English words such as homonym and synonym. Paronomasia was first recorded in English in the 1570s.
EXAMPLE OF PARONOMASIA USED IN A SENTENCE
The paronomasia in the line 鈥淚 am too much in the sun鈥� (also heard as 鈥渟on鈥�) implies Hamlet鈥檚 continued mourning of his father.
More about cosher
Cosher is of unclear origin. Some linguists connect it to the term cocker, 鈥渢o pamper,鈥� also of uncertain origin. Others, however, link cosher to Irish Gaelic 肠贸颈蝉颈谤, meaning 鈥渇east.鈥� Either way, cosher is not related to kosher, from Hebrew 办腻蝉丑脓谤, 鈥渞ight, fit,鈥� in the context of dietary laws. Cosher was first recorded in English in the early 1860s.
EXAMPLE OF COSHER USED IN A SENTENCE
They coshered and spoiled the cat, and he started acting like the king of the house.