This week’s theme
People who became verbs

This week’s words
haussmannize
MacGyver
pasteurize
disneyfy
macadamize


This week’s comments
AWADmail 879

Next week’s theme
Words from singer-songwriter Roy Zimmerman’s songs

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(muh-KAD-uh-myz)

MEANING:

verb tr.: To construct or pave a road with small, broken stones bound with asphalt or tar.

ETYMOLOGY:

After John Loudon McAdam (1756-1836), civil engineer, who pioneered this method of building a road. Earliest documented use: 1823. McAdam also appears in the word tarmac. The word was originally a trademark, coined by combining tar + McAdam.

USAGE:

“[Mark] Twain himself was an early advocate for bicycle transport; for example, he’s quoted in an 1895 edition of Portland’s Oregonian suggesting the city macadamize its streets, purchase bicycles, and rent them out to citizens.”
Fletcher Moore Twain’s Bike Lessons; Poets & Writers (New York); Sep/Oct 2011.

See more usage examples of macadamize in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: