A.Word.A.Day --weather vane

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Today's Word

weather vane

PRONUNCIATION:

(WETH-uhr vayn)

MEANING:

noun:
1. A device having a pointer rotating on a vertical spindle, used to indicate the direction of the wind.
2. Someone or something constantly changing.

ETYMOLOGY:

From weather, from Old English weder + vane, from Old English fana (flag). Earliest documented use: 1721. Since a weather vane traditionally featured a rooster on top, it’s also known as a weathercock.

USAGE:

“‘You haven’t changed your mind since yesterday?’ Pierre asked ...
‘Certainly not, I’m not a weather vane,’ Xavière said stiffly.”
Simone de Beauvoir; She Came to Stay; World Publishing Company; 1954.

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

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

An idea is salvation by imagination. -Frank Lloyd Wright, architect (8 Jun 1867-1959)

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

“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.”

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