This week's theme
There's a word for it

This week's words
snowbroth
anatopism
quaternary
elflock
allochthonous

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(ELF-lok)

MEANING:

noun: A tangled lock of hair.

ETYMOLOGY:

An elflock is a mass of hair supposedly tangled by elves, as a mother might explain to her daughter while untangling her snarled locks after a slumber. From Old English aelf. Ultimately from the Indo-European root albho- (white), which is also the source of oaf, albino, album, albumen, and albedo. Earliest documented use: 1596.

USAGE:

"Rowling's stories hurtle along like an out-of-control broomstick; her plots are as tangled as elflocks."
Harry Potter and the Magic Brew-haha; Fort Worth Star-Telegram; Dec 19, 1999.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: