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Jul 17, 2008
This week's theme
Words related to royalty

This week's words
magna carta
royal we
morganatic
king's ransom
queen regnant

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

king's ransom

PRONUNCIATION:
(kingz RAN-suhm)

MEANING:
noun: A very large sum of money.

ETYMOLOGY:
From the reference to the large sum required to secure the release of a king from captivity.

USAGE:
"Its nickname, CrackBerry, says it all. [A study] found that a third of BlackBerry users show signs of addiction 'similar to alcoholics'. Many companies would give a king's ransom for such customer dependency."
Are You Addicted To Your BlackBerry?; Forbes (New York); Apr 3, 2008.

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

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Profits, like sausages and laws, are esteemed most by those who know least about what goes into them. -Gary Hector, author and journalist (b. 1951)

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