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Jun 6, 2019
This week’s theme
Weird plurals

This week’s words
stigma
ala
stratum
gutta
charisma

gutta
Image: J. Matthew Harrington / Wikimedia

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

gutta

PRONUNCIATION:
(GUHT-uh)
plural guttae (GUHT-ee)

MEANING:
noun:
1. A drop.
2. One of a series of ornaments, typically in the shape of a truncated cone on buildings (in the Doric order in classical architecture).

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin gutta (drop). Earliest documented use: 1398.

USAGE:
“Guttae occasionally are pyramid-shaped with flat sides rather than cones or cylinders.”
Stephen Mouzon & Susan Henderson; Traditional Construction Patterns; McGraw-Hill; 2004.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
It's impossible to be loyal to your family, your friends, your country, and your principles, all at the same time. -Mignon McLaughlin, journalist and author (6 Jun 1913-1983)

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