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Apr 26, 2017
This week’s themeToponyms This week’s words sybaritic dalmatic sardine frieze pierian
A turtle swims below a school of sardines in Moalboal, Philippines
Photo: Henry Jager
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Gargsardine
PRONUNCIATION:
MEANING:
verb tr.: To pack tightly.
ETYMOLOGY:
The verb form developed from the tight packing of the sardine in cans.
From French sardine, from Latin sardina, from Greek Sardo (Sardinia).
Earliest documented use: 1895.
USAGE:
“Families of a dozen or more sardined themselves into buzzing,
bumblebee-colored auto rickshaws designed for two passengers.” Robert Kunzig; Seven Billion; National Geographic (Washington, DC); Jan 2011. See more usage examples of sardine in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Oh, the comfort -- the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person
-- having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all
right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a
faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with
the breath of kindness blow the rest away. -Dinah Maria Mulock Craik, poet
and novelist (26 Apr 1826-1887)
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