A.Word.A.Day |
About | Media | Search | Contact |
Home
|
Sep 22, 2016
This week’s themeWords borrowed from German This week’s words kitsch verboten ubermensch gauleiter clerisy Like what you see here? Send a gift subscription of A.Word.A.Day. It’s free. A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garggauleiter
PRONUNCIATION:
MEANING:
noun: An overbearing petty official.
ETYMOLOGY:
From German Gauleiter (a district leader in Nazi Germany), from Gau
(district) + Leiter (leader). Earliest documented use: 1936.
USAGE:
“Even if you don’t like a council leader, don’t call her a gauleiter.” Stuart Jeffries; ‘Swamped’ and ‘Riddled’; The Guardian (London, UK); Oct 28, 2014. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The characteristic of a well-bred man is, to converse with his inferiors
without insolence, and with his superiors with respect and with ease. -Lord
Chesterfield, statesman and writer (22 Sep 1694-1773)
|
|
© 1994-2024 Wordsmith