This week's theme
Words coined after mountains

This week's words
vesuvian
parnassian
chevy
chartreuse
himalayan

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Next week's theme
What a difference a letter makes

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(him-uh-LAY-uhn, hi-MAHL-yuhn)

MEANING:

adjective:
1. Enormously large.
2. Relating to the Himalayas.

ETYMOLOGY:

After the Himalayas, the mountain range having Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. From Sanskrit him (snow) + alaya (abode). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ghei- (winter), which is the ancestor of words such as chimera, hibernaculum, hiemal, and hibernate. Earliest documented use: 1866.

USAGE:

"As Otago lurches towards its worst season in living memory, it is becoming plain to see the Himalayan task these coaches are facing."
Steve Hepburn; Ordinary Otago Side Outclassed; Otago Daily Times (New Zealand); Oct 18, 2010.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: