A.Word.A.Day --mazard

A.Word.A.Day

About | Media | Search | Contact

Home

Today's Word

Yesterday's Word

Archives

FAQ

Dec 30, 2011

This week's theme
Archaic words

This week's words
mickle
inwit
reechy
aby
mazard

Maplewood with silver-gilt mounts

Photo: Victoria and Albert Museum, London

This week's comments
AWADmail 496

Next week's theme
"New" words

Discuss

Feedback

RSS/XML

A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

mazard

PRONUNCIATION:

(MAZ-uhrd)

MEANING:

noun: Face, head, or skull.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Middle English mazer (a large wooden drinking bowl), from mazer (a hardwood, especially maple). It's not clear how we got from the bowl to the head, perhaps from the shape of the bowl. Earliest documented use: 1584.

USAGE:

"Shakespeare is really clear that the skull is handled roughly. You know, there's a line about being knocked about the mazard."
Barry Edelstein; On London's West End, 'Hamlet' With Human Skull; National Public Radio: All Things Considered (New York); Jun 4, 2009.

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

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Wandering in a vast forest at night, I have only a faint light to guide me. A stranger appears and says to me: 'My friend, you should blow out your candle in order to find your way more clearly.' The stranger is a theologian. -Denis Diderot, philosopher (1713-1784)

We need your help

Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere

Donate

Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise