This week's theme
Illustrated words

This week's words
redolent
equable
terrene
hegemony
antediluvian


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Next week's theme
Words having origins in Iraq

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(an-tee-di-LOO-vee-uhn)

MEANING:

adjective: Extremely old; old-fashioned; primitive.

ETYMOLOGY:

The word literally means before the flood, referring to the Biblical story of Noah and his flood. From Latin ante- (before) + diluvium (flood), from diluere (to wash away), from dis- (away) + -luere (to wash), combining form of lavere (to wash). Earliest documented use: 1646. The opposite is postdiluvian.

USAGE:

"Despite the appearance of modernity, management remains antediluvian."
Asian Banks Hold on to Their Antediluvian Ways; South China Morning Post (Hong Kong); Sep 10, 1997.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: