A.Word.A.Day --osmose

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Today's Word

osmose

PRONUNCIATION:

(OZ/OS-mos)

MEANING:

verb tr., intr.:
1. To diffuse gradually.
2. To undergo or to subject to osmosis: the diffusion of fluid from a solution of low concentration to one of high concentration through a semipermeable membrane.

ETYMOLOGY:

Back-formation from osmosis, from Greek osmos (to push). Earliest documented use: 1884, for osmosis: 1863.

USAGE:

“A sense of humor osmoses from one to the other.”
James Somers; The Friendship That Made Google Huge; The New Yorker; Dec 10, 2018.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Write on my gravestone: "Infidel, Traitor" -- infidel to every church that compromises with wrong; traitor to every government that oppresses the people. -Wendell Phillips, human rights activist and attorney (29 Nov 1811-1884)

What they say

“Garg works in the great tradition of Wilfred Funk and Norman Lewis... Garg, however, is more fun.”

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Anu Garg on words

“Each word comes with a biography. These words have fascinating stories to tell, if only we take the time to listen.”

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