A.Word.A.Day --yeanling

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Nov 30, 2020

This week’s theme
Illustrated words

This week’s words
yeanling
ursiform
leptodactylous
zaftig
noctilucent

Illustration: Leah Palmer Preiss

Previous week’s theme
Supervocalic words

A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

The artist Leah Palmer Preiss is a national treasure. She calls herself an artist, but alchemist would be more like it. I gave her a few words earlier this year. She went to her studio and turned these words, plus some paint, into works of magic. We’ll see five more such words this week.

Now, after enjoying this week if you can’t wait till the next year, check out her illustrations from previous years.

You can reach her at (curiouser at mindspring.com).

yeanling

PRONUNCIATION:

(YEEN-ling)

MEANING:

noun: The young of an animal, especially of a sheep or a goat.
adjective: New-born; infant.

ETYMOLOGY:

From yean (to give birth to a young), from Old English geeanian, from eanian (to bear young) + -ling (small, young, inferior). Earliest documented use: 1644.

USAGE:

“In residence therein is a handsome chestnut colt the Lewises bought for $200,000 as a yeanling. His name is Charismatic.”
Larry Bortstein; Battle-Tested Kentucky Derby; Orange County Register (Santa Ana, California); Apr 30, 1999.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Laws are like cobwebs which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through. -Jonathan Swift, satirist (30 Nov 1667-1745)

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