A.Word.A.Day --escutcheon

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Feb 17, 2014

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

This week's words
escutcheon
crural
acedia
decant
quinary

Photo: Brassy Steamington

A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

A right word is the most direct route between two minds. Sure, you can take a circuitous path, but it's easy to get lost on the way. You can say Nina can't stop laughing after she has heard a joke or you can simply say that she is a hypergelast. You can complain that Neil suffers from an inability to remember names or you can say that he has anomia.
This week we'll feature five words that will help you succinctly convey what you wish to say, though we can't help if you have dysanagnosia (an inability to understand certain words).

escutcheon

PRONUNCIATION:

(i-SKUCH-uhn)

MEANING:

noun:
1. An ornamental or protective plate surrounding a keyhole, light switch, door handle, etc.
2. Used in the phrase: blot on one's escutcheon (a stain on one's reputation).
3. A shield or shield-shaped surface bearing a coat of arms.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin scutum (shield). Earliest documented use: 1480.

USAGE:

"Georgina drew the bolts on the front door and turned the large key in its handsome escutcheon."
Gina Rossi; The Wild Heart; The Wild Rose Press; 2012.

"I've never been arrested. I did get a parking ticket last week, but that's about the only blot on my escutcheon."
Lawrence Block; A Week as Andrea Benstock; Arbor House; 1975.

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

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

They know enough who know how to learn. -Henry Adams, historian and teacher (1838-1918)

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