A.Word.A.Day --crestfallen

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Feb 12, 2009

This week's theme
Words derived from birds

This week's words
columbarium
pied
roustabout
crestfallen
canard

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A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

crestfallen

PRONUNCIATION:

(KREST-fo-luhn)

MEANING:

adjective: Dispirited or disappointed by having one's hopes dashed.

ETYMOLOGY:

From allusion to the drooping crest or comb of a bird, such as a rooster. From Latin crista (tuft).

USAGE:

"With hands over her heart, Tatiana looked crestfallen. Some of us felt our hearts breaking because she was a really pretty girl."
American Idol: Frisky Frisco; The New Straits Times (Malaysia); Jan 23, 2009.

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

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

The difference in mind between man and the higher animals, great as it is, certainly is one of degree and not of kind. -Charles Darwin, naturalist and author (1809-1882)

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