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Apr 25, 2012 This week's theme Words from fencing This week's words foible forte elan riposte touché Discuss Feedback RSS/XML A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg elan PRONUNCIATION: (ay-LAHN*) *this syllable is nasal in French MEANING: noun: A combination of energy, enthusiasm, and style. ETYMOLOGY: From French élan (enthusiasm), from élancer (to dart), from lancer (to throw), from Latin lancea (lance). Earliest documented use: 1880. USAGE: "'Margaret Whitlam was seldom afraid to speak her mind and she spoke it with elan and wit,' John Robertson said." Labor Party Forever Indebted to Margaret Whitlam; AAP (Australia); Mar 17, 2012. Explore "elan" in the Visual Thesaurus. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books. -Walt Whitman, poet (1819-1892)

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