A.Word.A.Day --hight

A.Word.A.Day

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Nov 18, 2024

This week’s theme
Words that appear to be misspelled

This week’s words
hight
desistance
colander
proscription
benison

“You can name her whatever you like, but be sure it’s something you can remember. You’ll be using it as a security question answer for the rest of your life.”

Cartoon: Dan Piraro

Previous week’s theme
Words borrowed from Māori

A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

Earlier this year, a Pizza Hut restaurant in Canada posted a sign that read:

“Due to unforeseen circumcisions the dining room will be closed.” (source)

Clearly someone was in a hurry to post that sign. Around here we don’t cut corners or cut anything unnecessarily. We proofread, we spellcheck, we double check. This week’s words might look like misspellings at first glance, but each one is a valid word with its own unique meaning and history.

hight

PRONUNCIATION:

(hyt)

MEANING:

adjective: Named or called.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Old English hatan (to call). Earliest documented use: c. 450.

USAGE:

“A man hight Tosti. He it was who broke the long peace.”
Poul Anderson; War of Gods; Tor; 1999.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Does feminist mean large unpleasant person who'll shout at you or someone who believes women are human beings? To me it's the latter, so I sign up. -Margaret Atwood, novelist and poet (b. 18 Nov 1939)

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