Today's Word

Yesterday's Word

Archives

FAQ

A.Word.A.Day--coryphaeus

coryphaeus (kohr-uh-FEE-uhs) noun [plural coryphaei (-FEE-eye)]

1. The leader of a Greek chorus.

2. A leader or spokesperson.

[Latin, leader, from Greek koruphaios, from koruphe, head.]

"I look into the future to see nothing but disaster; really so much embarrassed that the sale of my library hangs over me like an impending doom and with no coryphaeus of the [r]ed-flag fraternity like Keese to `knock down' my darlings." John Reuben Thompson, Lee to the Rear, The World's Best Poetry on CD(tm), 20 Mar 1995.

"I was recently on a tour of Latin America, and the only regret I have was that I didn't study Latin harder in school so I could converse with those people." Former US Vice President and former presidential candidate Dan Quayle is purportedly said to have uttered these immortal words. Fortunately, you don't have to make a trip to Greece to use this week's words from Greek--they are all perfectly usable in the English language. -Anu

X-Bonus