This week’s theme
Words originating in the moon

This week’s words
superlunary
meniscus
moonstruck
blue moon
lunule

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(mi-NIS-kuhs)

MEANING:

noun
1. The curved surface of a column of liquid.
2. Something having a crescent-shape.
3. A lens that is concave on one side and convex on the other.
4. A thin cartilage disk between bones in a joint, such as in a knee or wrist.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin, from Greek meniskos (crescent), diminutive of mene (moon). Earliest documented use: 1686.

USAGE:

“My father listens silently, but I can feel a meniscus of rage rising in him, coating his throat with bile.”
Siddhartha Mukherjee; Runs in the Family; The New Yorker; Mar 28, 2016.

See more usage examples of meniscus in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: