A.Word.A.Day --limn

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limn

PRONUNCIATION:

(lim)

MEANING:

verb tr.:
1. To portray in words.
2. To draw or paint, especially in outline.

ETYMOLOGY:

Via French, from Latin luminare (to illuminate), from lumen (light). Ultimately from the Indo-European root leuk- (light), which is also the source of words such as lunar, lunatic, light, lightning, lucid, illuminate, illustrate, translucent, lux, lynx, and lucubrate. Earliest documented use: 1440.

USAGE:

"'And if they put Jews into gas chambers in the Soviet Union, it is not an American concern,' Mr. Kissinger insists. 'Maybe a humanitarian concern.' More than limning Nixon's place in history, the line reveals Mr. Kissinger's genius for playing the lackey to power."
Editorial: 400 Hours and Counting; The New York Times; Dec 18, 2010.

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

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

It is more often from pride than from ignorance that we are so obstinately opposed to current opinions; we find the first places taken, and we do not want to be the last. -Francois de La Rochefoucauld, moralist (1613-1680)

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