This week’s theme
Toponyms

This week’s words
byzantine
erewhonian
Pearl Harbor
Delphic
Roman peace

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(purl HAHR-buhr)

MEANING:

noun: A sudden, devastating attack.
verb tr.: To attack suddenly with devastating results.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Pearl Harbor, near Honolulu, Hawaii, the site of a US naval base, which was attacked by Japanese planes on Dec 7, 1941, leading to the US joining WWII. Earliest documented use: 1942.

USAGE:

“A year and a half ago, Jones was injured in an accident at his shop, ‘my Pearl Harbor,’ he says. A truck tire rim he was working on burst, badly injuring the side of his head, his right shoulder, and left wrist.”
Mark Felsenthal; One Man’s Treasures; Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia); Aug 2, 1989.

“‘[The mayor] Pearl Harbored the fire station,’ Mitchell said. ‘It was a sneak attack. He runs out of town and nobody can find him.’”
Jerry Thomas; Union to Fight Closing of Fire Station in Chelsea; Boston Globe; Sep 2, 1990.

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

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: