A.Word.A.Day		About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us

Home Today's Word Yesterday's Word Archives FAQ

Nov 4, 2010 This week's theme Back-formations This week's words comminate aesthete dentulous buttle emote Read it today Discuss Feedback RSS/XML A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg buttle PRONUNCIATION: (BUT-l) MEANING: verb intr.: To do a butler's work. ETYMOLOGY: Back-formation from butler, from Old French bouteillier (cup-bearer), from bouteille (bottle). Originally, a butler was in charge of the wine. Earliest recorded use: 1867. USAGE: "The top hotels in Saudi Arabia are staffed by foreign men -- something I realized must be the case when my butler at the Al Faisaliah folded my underwear unprompted. If I were buttled by a Saudi, we'd probably be shuttled to Deera Square -- or Chop Chop Square, as it's better known -- where the public beheadings occur." Maureen Dowd; A Girls' Guide to Saudi Arabia; Vanity Fair (New York); Aug 2010. See more usage examples of buttle in Vocabulary.com's dictionary. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Insanity - a perfectly rational adjustment to an insane world. -RD Laing, psychiatrist and author (1927-1989)

A.Word.A.Day by email: Subscribe "The most welcomed, most enduring piece of daily mass e-mail in cyberspace." Sponsored by: Give the Gift of Words Share the magic of words. Send a gift subscription of A.Word.A.Day. Anu on Words: Writer Magazine Globe & Mail Interact: Bulletin board Wordsmith Talk Moderated Chat Wordsmith Chat Readers' Voice AWADmail