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This week's theme Words from geology and geography. This week's words archipelago monadnock shoal col isthmus Today's word in Visual Thesaurus Next week's theme Insults The gift of words Send a gift subscription Discuss Feedback RSS/XML A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg isthmus PRONUNCIATION: (IS-muhs) MEANING: noun: 1. A narrow strip of land with water on each side, joining two larger land masses, for example, the Isthmus of Panama. 2. A narrow strip of tissue joining two large organs or cavities. ETYMOLOGY: From Latin isthmus, from Greek isthmos (a neck of land). USAGE: "As a young man [Nathaniel] Hawthorne had been a recluse. His gift of vision made him different, as he walked an isthmus between time and eternity." Patrick J. Walsh; Hawthorne's God; Weekly Standard (Washington, DC); Jan 2, 2006. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Modern technology / Owes ecology / An apology. -Alan M. Eddison

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