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May 21, 2013
This week's theme
Words coined after mountains

This week's words
vesuvian
parnassian
chevy
chartreuse
himalayan

Theater of Delphi on the southwestern spur of Mount Parnassus
Theater of Delphi on the southwestern spur of Mount Parnassus
Photo: Leonid Tsvetkov
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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

parnassian

PRONUNCIATION:
(pahr-NAS-ee-uhn)

MEANING:
adjective: Of or relating to poetry.

ETYMOLOGY:
After Mount Parnassus, a mountain in Greece, considered sacred to Apollo, the Greek god of music and poetry, and the Muses. Earliest documented use: 1565.

USAGE:
"Whether scaling to Parnassian heights or plunging inward to insight, the poems' impeccable musicality and craftsmanship will win the trust and admiration of many."
Fiction Reviews; Publishers Weekly (New York); Oct 15, 2007.

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

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice that produces beggars needs restructuring. -Martin Luther King, Jr., civil-rights leader (1929-1968)

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