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A.Word.A.Day--mantic mantic (MAN-tik) adjective Of or relating to divination. [From Greek mantikos, from mantis (prophet), from mainesthai (to rage). Ultimately from Indo-European root men- (to think) that is also the source of words such as mind, mental, mention, Sanskrit mantra, automatic, mania, money, praying mantis, monument, music, and amnesia.] Today's word in Visual Thesaurus. "During July, you will be involved with people who are studying the mantic arts, including astrology." Sydney Omarr; Today's Horoscope; The Washington Post; Jun 21, 2002. "Pan had taught him for summoning what beast he wished, and filled the outdoor theatre with loud leaping green lumps of slime. Comic beyond words, the piece was a hit - not least for frog-happy Eurydice. Whether anyone suspected the mantic origins of this so-called coincidence ..." Kurt Leland; The Adolescence of Orpheus; 2001 This week's theme: words from Greek. X-Bonus Work on good prose has three steps: a musical stage when it is composed, an architectonic one when it is built, and a textile one when it is woven. -Walter Benjamin, critic and philosopher (1892-1940)

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