Wordsmith.org: the magic of words


A.Word.A.Day

 About | Media | Search | Contact  


Home

Today's Word

Subscribe

Archives
Jul 7, 2022
This week’s theme
Blend words

This week’s words
staycation
orature
pennant
flexitarian
bromance

flexitarian
“I’m vegetarian with the exception that I still eat children.”
Cartoon: Dan Piraro
Bookmark and Share Facebook Twitter Digg MySpace Bookmark and Share
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

flexitarian

PRONUNCIATION:
(flek-suh-TAYR-ee-uhn)

MEANING:
noun: One who follows a primarily vegetarian diet but occasionally consumes animal products.
adjective: Primarily but not completely vegetarian.

ETYMOLOGY:
A blend of flexible + vegetarian. Earliest documented use: 1998.

USAGE:
“38% of American consumers said that they guzzle plant-based milk, but only 12% did so exclusively. The others were flexitarian, drinking both moo juice and the nutty or beany variety.”
Fake Moos; The Economist (London, UK); Oct 12, 2019.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Men rarely (if ever) managed to dream up a god superior to themselves. Most gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child. -Robert A. Heinlein, science-fiction author (7 Jul 1907-1988)

What they say

“A.Word.A.Day, a rare exception to the usual blight on my mailbox”
Read more

The Wall Street Journal

More articles

Anu Garg on words

“A large vocabulary is like an artist having a big palette of colors. We don’t have to use all the colors in a single painting, but it helps to be able to find just the right shade when we need it.”

We need your help

Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere

Donate

Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise

© 1994-2025 Wordsmith