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Feb 3, 2011
This week's themeWords derived from the names of places This week's words gasconade milliner helot spartan verdigris 
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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Gargspartan
PRONUNCIATION:
(SPAR-tn)
MEANING:
adjective:
Lacking in comforts; marked by self-discipline or self-restraint.
ETYMOLOGY:
After Sparta, an ancient town in southern Greece whose residents were
known for strict discipline. First recorded use: 1425.
NOTES:
Sparta was the capital of Laconia, which has given another word to the
language: laconic. Also, there's
a word coined after another town in Laconia: helot.
USAGE:
"Jens Jacob cooks and sleeps in the van, his mobile home, sometimes under
the stars. It's a spartan existence for the man on the move."Allan Jacob; On the Road to...; Khaleej Times (Dubai, UAE); Nov 5, 2010. See more usage examples of spartan in Vocabulary.com's dictionary. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies. -Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, philosopher (1844-1900)
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