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Aug 2, 2012 This week's theme Words that have the plural spelled the same but pronounced differently This week's words corps faux pas rendezvous pince-nez precis Anton Chekhov in pince-nez Detail from a portrait by Osip Braz, 1898 Discuss Feedback RSS/XML A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg pince-nez PRONUNCIATION: (PANS-nay, PINS-) plural pince-nez (-nayz) MEANING: noun: A pair of eyeglasses held in place by a spring that grips the nose. ETYMOLOGY: From French pince-nez, literally, pinch-nose. Ultimately from the Indo-European root nas- (nose) that is also the source of other words for nose: English nose, Hindi nak, Spanish nariz, French nez, and related words nuzzle, nostril, nasal, and nark. Earliest documented use: 1866. NOTES: We may now wonder why someone didn't think of the obvious solution of adding side arms sooner, but hindsight is 20/20. Pince-nez were an improvement over what they used before: lorgnettes. USAGE: "Edward Weston had pince-nez on a cord around his neck and would peer at her through the lenses of the glasses." Matt Schudel; Charis Wilson, Model and Muse; The Washington Post; Nov 25, 2009. Explore "pince-nez" in the Visual Thesaurus. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: The heart has its reasons that reason knows nothing of. -Blaise Pascal, philosopher and mathematician (1623-1662)

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