A.Word.A.Day --byzantine

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Jun 26, 2023

This week’s theme
Toponyms

This week’s words
byzantine
erewhonian
Pearl Harbor
Delphic
Roman peace

Illustration: Anu Garg × DALL·E

Previous week’s theme
Science

A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

Maybe you are wearing your favorite pair of denims or you’re bundled up in a cozy jersey on a chilly evening. Perhaps you are dining on fine china or enjoying a hot cup of mocha.

What do all these experiences have in common? They all involve toponyms -- words coined after places, real or fictional.

denim: after Nîmes, a city in France. Hence de Nîmes (literally, from Nîmes).
jersey: after Jersey, one of the Channel Islands, once known for its knitting trade
china: after China, from where it was imported.
mocha: after Mokha, a port city in Yemen, historically significant for being a major marketplace for coffee beans.

Welcome to the intriguing world of toponymic words, where geography meets language in the most delightful way. Toponyms are words that have traveled from the map and nestled themselves into the dictionary. They are the linguistic souvenirs collected from places around the globe.

This week we’ll see five other toponyms: words that are the unassuming ambassadors of their native lands, each with a tale to tell about their journey from a pin on the map to a word on our tongues.

byzantine

PRONUNCIATION:

(BIZ-uhn-teen/tyn, bi/buh/by-ZAN/zuhn-tin/teen)

MEANING:

adjective:
1. Highly complex or intricate.
2. Involving scheming or intrigue.
3. Relating to the architectural or decorative style developed in the Byzantine Empire.
4. Relating to the ancient city of Byzantium or the Byzantine Empire.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Byzantium, an ancient Greek city, modern-day Istanbul. Metaphorical senses are from the complex bureaucracy, palace intrigue, and elaborate art and architecture, associated with the Byzantine Empire. Earliest documented use: 1599.

USAGE:

“An initial reform would simplify a byzantine tax code.”
Big Plans, Not Much Money; The Economist (London, UK); Jan 7, 2023.

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

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

I believe the greatest gift I can conceive of having from anyone is to be seen, heard, understood, and touched by them. The greatest gift I can give is to see, hear, understand, and touch another person. -Virginia Satir, psychotherapist and author (26 Jun 1916-1988)

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