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Looking for a new kind of feeding frenzy? Feast on colorful references in Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Allusions. http://www.m-w.com/book/writref/allusion.htm *************************************************************** The Word of the Day for January 13 is: deem \DEEM\ (verb) *transitive sense : to come to think or judge : consider intransitive sense : to have an opinion : believe Example sentence: Upon discovering that they had collected a combined total of more than one thousand dollars, the students deemed their class fund-raiser a resounding success. Did you know? In the Middle Ages, "demen" was a fateful word. Closely related to "doom," this precursor of "deem" meant "to act as a judge" or "to sentence, condemn, or decree." These meanings passed to "deem" itself, but we haven't used "deem" to mean "legally condemn" since the early 17th century. Though "deem" is still frequently used in law contexts, today it means "judge" only in a broader sense of "to decide (something specified) regarding," as in "the act was deemed unlawful" or "the defendant is deemed to have agreed to the contract." Outside of the law, "deem" usually means simply "to consider." Some usage commentators consider "deem" pretentious, but its use is well established in both literary and journalistic contexts. We deem it perfectly acceptable. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. ---------------- Brought to you by Merriam-Webster, Inc. http://www.Merriam-Webster.com ---------------- Subscribe or unsubscribe to Word of the Day via the Web at: http://www.Merriam-Webster.com/service/subinst.htm To join the list via e-mail, send a blank e-mail to: mw-wod-subscribe-request@listserv.webster.m-w.com To leave the list via e-mail, send a blank e-mail to: mw-wod-signoff-request@listserv.webster.m-w.com Questions about your subscription? Write to: mw-wod-request@listserv.webster.m-w.com Questions or comments about the Word of the Day? Write to: word@Merriam-Webster.com © 2002 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated
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