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Dec 29, 2011 This week's theme Archaic words This week's words mickle inwit reechy aby mazard Caught in spam? Whitelist us to ensure uninterrupted delivery of A.Word.A.Day. Here's how to do it Discuss Feedback RSS/XML A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg aby PRONUNCIATION: (uh-BY) MEANING: verb tr.: To pay the penalty for. verb intr.: To suffer, to endure. ETYMOLOGY: From Old English abycgan (to pay for), from bycgan (to buy). Earliest documented use: before 1225. USAGE: "'But we have you -- and you shall aby it.' There were knives drawn on every side of him as these words were spoken." Walter Scott; Quentin Durward; 1823. Explore "aby" in the Visual Thesaurus. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: A poet should be of the / old-fashioned meaningless brand: / obscure, esoteric, symbolic, -- / the critics demand it; / so if there's a poem of mine / that you do understand / I'll gladly explain what it means / till you don't understand it. -Piet Hein, poet and scientist (1905-1996)

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