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Mar 16, 2011 This week's theme Seventeen-letter words to mark Wordsmith.org's septendecennial This week's words predestinarianism triskaidekaphobia contradistinguish laryngopharyngeal perspicaciousness Invite friends from your social network to A.Word.A.Day Discuss Feedback RSS/XML A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg contradistinguish PRONUNCIATION: (kon-truh-di-STING-gwish) MEANING: verb tr.: To distinguish (one thing from another) by contrasting qualities. ETYMOLOGY: From Latin contra- (against) + distinguish, from Middle/Old French distinguer, from Latin distinguere (to pick or separate). Ultimately from the Indo-European root steig- (to stick; pointed), which is also the source of ticket, etiquette, instinct, stigma, thistle, tiger, and steak. Earliest documented use: 1622. USAGE: "Avni successfully contradistinguished the character of Menachem from the other men in uniform he has played." Dan Williams; Aki Avni's Stellar Sincerity; The Jerusalem Post (Israel); Nov 29, 2000. Explore "contradistinguish" in the Visual Thesaurus. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: There is nothing like desire for preventing the things one says from bearing any resemblance to what one has in one's mind. -Marcel Proust, novelist (1871-1922)

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