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

Home Today's Word Yesterday's Word Archives FAQ

This week's theme Eponyms This week's words byronic orwellian manichean machiavellian draconian Niccolò Machiavelli Art: Santi di Tito, 16th c. MACH-IV Test How Machiavellian are you? Take the test Discuss Feedback RSS/XML A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg Machiavellian PRONUNCIATION: (mak-ee-uh-VEL-ee-uhn) MEANING: adjective: Characterized by cunning, deception, and expediency. ETYMOLOGY: After Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), Florentine statesman and author of The Prince, a political treatise describing use of craft and deceit to achieve political power. USAGE: "Rumours of Machiavellian plots and conspiracy theories have permeated the period of mourning." Darryl Broadfoot; Mitchell: End the Revisionism; The Herald (Glasgow, Scotland); Nov 23, 2007. Explore "machiavellian" in the Visual Thesaurus. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom. -Isaac Asimov, scientist and writer (1920-1992)

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