This week's theme
What a difference a letter makes

This week's words
palatine
collier
lares and penates
hyperbolic
debark

This week's comments
AWADmail 570

Next week's theme
Words that appear to be misspellings

---

A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(dee-BARK)

MEANING:

verb tr.:
1. To remove the bark from a dog.
2. To remove the bark from a log.
verb tr., intr.:
3. To disembark.

ETYMOLOGY:

For 1: From de- (from) + bark, from Old English borcian (to bark). Earliest documented use: 1943.
For 2: From de- (from) + Old Norse börkr (bark). Earliest documented use: 1744.
For 3: From French debarquer, from de- (from) + barque (ship). Earliest documented use: 1744.

USAGE:

"Dr. Marder said they will probably debark Truffle unless she quickly learns to play quietly."
Sam Dolnick; Heel. Sit. Whisper. Good Dog; The New York Times; Feb 3, 2010.

"Mike Rowe finds himself ... heading to a mill to help debark and process wood for a log cabin."
Emily Yahr; Highlights; The Washington Post; Feb 22, 2011.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: