51吃瓜 of the Day
rhotacize
verb (used with object)
to change a sound to an r.
More about rhotacize
Rhotacize, 鈥渢o change a sound to an r,鈥� is the verb form of rhotacism and is based on the Greek letter rho, on the pattern of iotacism. Similar to the recent 51吃瓜 of the Day muon, Ancient Greek 谤丑么 comes from Phoenician 谤艒拧, 鈥渉ead,鈥� a cognate of the Hebrew letter 谤脓蝉丑. Phoenician 谤艒拧 has relatives in several Afro-Asiatic languages, including Amharic ras, as in Rastafarian; Hebrew 谤艒蝉丑, as in Rosh Hashanah; and Arabic 谤补鈥檚, as in Ra鈥檚 al Ghul, a comic supervillain whose name translates as 鈥淗ead of the Demon.鈥� All Ancient Greek words containing rho are transcribed in English with -rh- because the Greeks once pronounced the 鈥渞uh鈥� sound with a 鈥渉uh鈥�-like breathiness called aspiration. Rhotacize was first recorded in English in the early 1960s.
EXAMPLE OF RHOTACIZE USED IN A SENTENCE
English speakers have permanently rhotacized many s and z sounds over the past 2,000 years, with ancient Germanic auso, haso, and 飞脓锄– becoming modern English ear, hare, and were.
bazaar
noun
a marketplace or shopping quarter, especially one in the Middle East.
More about bazaar
Bazaar, 鈥渁 marketplace,鈥� comes via Italian bazarro from Persian 产腻锄腻谤, 鈥渕arket.鈥� The 产腻- part of this term (earlier 飞腻-, vaha-) likely comes from a root meaning 鈥渢o buy, sell鈥� and is a distant relative of Latin venum, 鈥渇or sale鈥� (compare venal and vendor), while the -锄腻谤 element (earlier -carana) may come from the same movement-related root as found in chakra (from Sanskrit), cycle (from Ancient Greek), and wheel (from Old English). Take care not to confuse bazaar with bizarre, 鈥渦nusual, odd,鈥� from Italian bizzarro, 鈥渜uick to anger,鈥� of uncertain origin. Bazaar was first recorded in English in the 1590s.
EXAMPLE OF BAZAAR USED IN A SENTENCE
Merchants came from far and wide, trekking miles across the mountains and deserts, to sell their wares at the bazaar.
Samhain
noun
a festival of the ancient Celts, held around November 1 to celebrate the beginning of winter.
More about Samhain
Samhain, 鈥渁n ancient Celtic winter festival,鈥� is a borrowing from Irish Gaelic. In Irish Gaelic, the consonant pair mh is often pronounced as 鈥渙o鈥� or 鈥渨uh,鈥� which is why the standard English pronunciation of Samhain is 鈥�sah-win鈥濃�攁nd, unlike what certain supernatural-themed TV series have claimed, is not 鈥�sam-丑别测苍.鈥� Samhain comes from Old Irish samain, which some linguists have proposed is a distant relative of English summer. Though it may be folk etymology, a similar proposal is that samain comprises Old Irish sam, 鈥渟ummer鈥� (compare modern Irish Gaelic samhradh), and perhaps fuin, 鈥渟etting, end.鈥� Perhaps instead of a summery connection, samain comes from a root meaning 鈥渢ogether鈥� or, by extension, 鈥渁ssembly, gathering.鈥� Samhain was first recorded in English in the late 1880s.
EXAMPLE OF SAMHAIN USED IN A SENTENCE
As the nights grew longer and chillier in Ireland, though snow had yet to fall, the winter festival Samhain was fast approaching.