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Oct 22, 2013
This week's themeMiscellaneous words This week's words tumid primogeniture recidivism mien autochthonous Send a gift that keeps on giving, all year long: A gift subscription of A.Word.A.Day or give the gift of books A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Gargprimogeniture
PRONUNCIATION:
MEANING:
noun: 1. The state of being the firstborn or eldest child in a family. 2. The right of succession and inheritance belonging to the firstborn child. ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin primus (first) + gignere (to beget). Not to be confused with
primogenitor. Earliest
documented use: 1500.
USAGE:
"Primogeniture! I remembered that, from History 1A. But to hear of this
law in reality, in this century, struck me. How could they give all
this to one child, leaving the other three without?" Marjorie Leet Ford; The Diary of an American Au Pair; Anchor Books; 2011. See more usage examples of primogeniture in Vocabulary.com's dictionary. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested. -Francis Bacon, essayist, philosopher, and statesman (1561-1626)
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