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Mar 30, 2009
This week's themeA random walk through the dictionary This week's words diaphanous lucubrate acarpous coetaneous pellucid Get a random word from A.Word.A.Day archives 
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with Anu GargAn odd lot. That's what this week's five words are. They don't fit in a theme, but they're useful anyway, as we pick one word at a time when writing or speaking. And while all words are usable, these five words may, in fact, be more usable than others we've had lately. So give them a spin. Let them take you where they will, in this random walk through the dictionary. diaphanous
PRONUNCIATION:
(dy-AF-uh-nuhs)
MEANING:
adjective:1. Transparent, light, or delicate. 2. Vague or hazy. ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin diaphanus (transparent), from Greek diaphanes, from diaphainein
(to show through), from dia- (across) + phainein (to show). Ultimately from
the Indo-European root bha- (to shine) that is also the source of beacon,
banner, phantom, photo, phosphorus, phenomenon, fantasy, and epiphany.
USAGE:
"In its main sale of the week, the house will offer five watercolors by
Turner spanning his career, including the late picture 'The Brunig Pass
from Meiringen, Switzerland', a whirlwind of diaphanous color and light."Above and Beyond; The New Yorker; Feb 2, 2009. See more usage examples of diaphanous in Vocabulary.com's dictionary. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
We are all of us more or less echoes, repeating involuntarily the virtues, the defects, the movements, and the characters of those among whom we live. -Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
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