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Enjoy a year's worth of poems, puns, and puzzles in The Best of an Almanac of Words at Play. http://www.merriam-webster.com/book/puzzspec/wordplay.htm *************************************************************** The Word of the Day for February 1 is: livid \LIH-vid\ (adjective) 1 : discolored by bruising : black-and-blue 2 : ashen, pallid 3 : reddish *4 : very angry : enraged Example sentence: "When my mother caught me sneaking in after midnight, she was livid," Abby reported. Did you know? "Livid" has a colorful history. The Latin adjective "lividus" means "dull, grayish, or leaden blue." From this came the French "livide," and eventually the English "livid," which originally was used to describe flesh discolored by a bruise. By the end of the 18th century, a slight extension of meaning had given it the sense "ashen or pallid," as in describing a corpse. "Livid" eventually came to be used in this sense to characterize the complexion of a person pale with anger ("livid with rage"). From this meaning came two new senses in the 20th century. One was "reddish," as one is as likely to become red with anger as pale; the other was simply "angry" or "furious," the most common sense of the word today. *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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