A.Word.A.Day --apropos

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apropos

PRONUNCIATION:

(ap-ruh-PO)

MEANING:

adverb: 1. In reference to. 2. Appropriately; relevantly.
adjective: Appropriate.

ETYMOLOGY:

From French à propos (to the purpose), from Latin propositum (purpose), from ponere (to put). Ultimately from the Indo-European root apo- (off or away) that is also the source of pose, apposite, after, off, awkward, post, and puny.

USAGE:

"Tom Stoppard said, apropos of his play Arcadia, that there were some works that made a playwright feel not so much proud as lucky."
Alastair Macaulay; When Death (That Bowler-Hatted Gent) Comes Calling in Dreams; The New York Times; Mar 6, 2008.

"In the Radio Times interview, Eileen Atkins's comments seemed to arrive apropos of nothing."
Katy Guest; Ladettes, Feminists and a Dame; Independent on Sunday (London, UK); Aug 3, 2008.

See more usage examples of apropos in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Words / as slippery as smooth grapes, / words exploding in the light / like dormant seeds waiting / in the vaults of vocabulary, / alive again, and giving life: / once again the heart distills them. -Pablo Neruda, poet and diplomat (1904-1973)

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