This week’s theme
Loanwords and loan translations

This week’s words
machtpolitik
dogwatch
bridgehead
earworm
immiseration

---

A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(EER-wuhrm)

MEANING:

noun:
1. A catchy song or tune that keeps involuntarily repeating in one’s mind.
2. An agricultural pest commonly known as corn earworm, of the species Helicoverpa zea or Helicoverpa armigera.

ETYMOLOGY:

Loan translation of German Ohrwurm (earwig, earworm). Earliest documented use: 1598. See also earwig.

USAGE:

“It is an irresistible earworm, topping the charts in Norway and reaching number six on the Billboard chart in America.”
Played for Laughs; The Economist (London, UK); Jul 18, 2020.

“The caterpillar was basically a pest species, related to a corn earworm, and not significant at all.”
Elizabeth Kolbert; A Little-Known Planet; The New Yorker; Mar 20, 2023.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: