This week’s theme
You guess the words

This week’s words
antre
reeve
vesta
talpa
paean


This week’s comments
AWADmail 1029

Next week’s theme
Verbs

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(PEE-uhn)

MEANING:

noun: An expression of praise, joy, or triumph, typically in the form of a song.
verb tr.: To make such an expression.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin paean, from Greek paian (hymn of thanksgiving to Apollo), after Paian, Paion (epithet of Apollo in the hymn). Earliest documented use: 1592.

NOTES:

On Jan 23, 1968, North Korea seized the USS Pueblo in international waters. One crew member was killed and the rest were captured. They were tortured and the ship’s captain, Commander Lloyd M. Bucher, was forced to write a confession. He penned a statement that’s a mix of baroque and buffoonery. He talked about “bowels”, “number one”, and “naughty acts” and expressed his “fervent desire to paean the Korean People’s Army, Navy, and their government.” They never caught the pun. The crew was released exactly 11 months later.

USAGE:

“Chief executives ... when they do write, as a business publisher admits, you often ‘weep for the trees’. Think only of Jack Welch’s paean to great (i.e., his own) leadership called ‘Winning’. Its first pearl of wisdom is: ‘Winning in business is great, because when companies win, people thrive and grow.’”
How Bosses Should Write Books; The Economist (London, UK); Oct 2, 2021.

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

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: