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Jul 20, 2026
This week’s themeWords with hidden animals This week’s words 
An augur stands behind the covered Numa Pompilius at an auspicium ceremony
to look at the sign from the birds on whether Numa was fit to be the future
king of Rome.
Engraving: Bernhard Rode, 1768-69 Previous week’s theme Words with multiple meanings Wordsmith Games
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu GargDid you know that a bugle has an ox in it, a canopy has a mosquito, and a pavilion has a butterfly? Before you call pest control or animal rescue, bear with us. It’s not obvious from their looks, but bugle ultimately goes back to Latin buculus (young ox or bullock), because early bugles were ox-horn signaling instruments. Canopy comes from Greek konops (mosquito or gnat), because it originally referred to a bed curtain that kept the little bloodsuckers away. And pavilion comes from Latin papilio (butterfly), from the resemblance of a tent to spread wings. Similarly, this week’s words are a lexical menagerie in disguise. Their spellings look innocent, but tucked into the underbrush of etymology are a bird, a spider, a fish, a sheep, and a hedgehog. Think of them as words with zoological contraband: harmless-looking syllables at the border, carrying feathers, webs, scales, wool, and quills in their luggage. auspicate
PRONUNCIATION:
(AW-spi-kayt)
MEANING:
verb tr.: To begin an undertaking, especially with a ceremony intended to bring good luck.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin auspex (one who observes birds), from avis (bird) + -spex
(watcher), from specere (to look). Earliest documented use: 1604.
NOTES:
Etymologically speaking, to auspicate is to birdwatch. In ancient
Rome, an official called an auspex or augur looked for divine approval
by observing birds: how they flew, called, or fed. Because, naturally,
whether the birds pecked with gusto could decide whether an army marched,
an election proceeded, or everyone went home kibitzing. Professional bird-omen consultants are scarce today, but the market for the future remains crowded: tarot-card readers, palm readers, and other vendors of Delphic mumbo-jumbo are still ready to take your money and, in return, tell you what the universe allegedly meant to say. Related words include auspices. and auspicious. The word inaugurate is also related: Latin inaugurare meant to take omens from birds, or to consecrate or install when the omens were favorable. USAGE:
“Toward the end of the month he auspicated a lecture tour on the economy.” R Emmett Tyrrell, Jr; The Continuing Crisis; The American Spectator (Bloomington, Indiana); Sep/Oct 2013. See more usage examples of auspicate in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
To be able to say how much you love is to love but little. -Petrarch,
scholar and poet (20 Jul 1304-1374)
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