A.Word.A.Day --ponceau

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Today's Word

ponceau

PRONUNCIATION:

(pon-SO)

MEANING:

noun: A bright red color.
adjective: Of bright red color.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Old French pouncel (poppy), diminutive of paon (peacock), from Latin pavo (peacock). Peacocks are not red, so why this word after a peacock? The poppy flower got this name because its vivid red color was compared to the bright colors of a peacock. A related word is pavonine. Earliest documented use: 1774.

USAGE:

“Eternal alliances which ordinarily terminate in a quarrel about the shade of a ponceau ribbon ...”
Ouida; Beatrice Boville and Other Stories; J.B. Lippincott Company; 1905.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Transport of the mails, transport of the human voice, transport of flickering pictures -- in this century, as in others, our highest accomplishments still have the single aim of bringing men together. -Antoine de Saint-Exupery, author and aviator (29 Jun 1900-1944)

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