This week’s theme
Places that have given us multiple toponyms

This week’s words
coventry
Roman matron
Canterbury tale
Trojan horse
Kentish cousins

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(ROH-muhn may-truhn)

MEANING:

noun: A woman having a dignified bearing.

ETYMOLOGY:

From the ideal of a married woman in ancient Rome. From Latin matrona (a married woman), from mater (mother). Earliest documented use: 1596.

USAGE:

“A learned woman’s morals were always suspect, especially if she earned her living. Catharine Macaulay, a republican historian, could pose as a Roman matron all she liked, but that did not stop caricaturists mocking her for using cosmetics and for her male friendships.”
Clever Girls; The Economist (London, UK); Mar 22, 2008.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: