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This week's theme
Verbs

This week's words
homologate
convoke
expiate
subserve
nettle

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  • A.Word.A.Day
    with Anu Garg

    Verbs are special words. They describe action. Nothing would ever get done if it were not for the verbs. Look at a sentence on your screen or on paper -- it just lies there listless, a mere collection of random words until a verb comes to infuse life into it. This week we'll feature five unusual verbs - words for a few things you most likely don't do every day.

    homologate

    PRONUNCIATION:
    (huh-MOL-uh-gayt, ho-)

    MEANING:
    verb tr.:
    1. To approve officially.
    2. To register a specific model of a motor vehicle to make it eligible to take part in a racing competition.

    ETYMOLOGY:
    From Latin homologare (to agree), from Greek homologein (to agree or allow).

    NOTES:
    Some auto racing competitions require participating vehicles to be available for sale to the general public, and not be custom made for racing. The process of homologation verifies this. The initials GTO listed after some auto names (Ferrari, Pontiac, etc.) mean "Gran Turismo Omologato", Italian for "Grand Touring, Homologated".

    USAGE:
    "Mr Jimmy Gray said: 'We've major issues which appear to be discussed in the press. Decisions are made and then we're asked to homologate these decisions."
    Labour Group Leader Hits Out; Aberdeen Press & Journal (UK); Jul 9, 2007.

    "What was needed was a more streamlined street car to homologate for racing."
    Malcolm Gunn; Parked on the Showroom Floor; Chicago Daily Herald; Oct 18, 2009.

    A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
    Go to where the silence is and say something. -Amy Goodman, investigative journalist, columnist and author (b. 1957)

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