A.Word.A.Day --magnanimous

A.Word.A.Day

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Apr 1, 2013

This week's theme
Words to describe people

This week's words
magnanimous
percipient
sagacious
temerarious
malapert

A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

"Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else." Like all genuine humor, this waggish remark carries a grain of truth. There are seven billion of us around, and we are very different -- in our demeanor, diction, and dreams, as well as in our fingerprints, retinal patterns, and DNA sequences.

Yet, no matter which hand we write with, what language we speak, or what we eat, there is something that binds us all, whether it's our preference for a life free from fear, our efforts to make this world a better place, our appreciation of beauty, or our longing for love.

With so many people, so many shared traits, and so many differences, there's no wonder we have so many words to describe people. This week we'll look at five of them.

magnanimous

PRONUNCIATION:

(mag-NAN-i-muhs)

MEANING:

adjective: Generous or forgiving, especially towards a weak rival.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin magnanimus (great-souled), from magnus (great) + animus (soul, mind). Ultimately from the Indo-European root meg- (great), which also gave us magnificent, maharaja, master, mayor, maestro, magnate, magistrate, maximum, magnify, mahatma, magisterial, mickle, and hermetic. Earliest documented use: 1547.

USAGE:

"Breslin was magnanimous in victory, paying tribute to the efforts of Glenavon."
Gordon Hanna; Cliftonville in Cruise Control; Belfast Telegraph (Northern Ireland); Mar 19, 2013.

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

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. -Albert Schweitzer, philosopher, physician, musician, Nobel laureate (1875-1965)

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