This week’s theme
Which came first: the noun or the verb?

This week’s words
transect
surfeit
reconnoiter
traject
interpose

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(SUHR-fit)

MEANING:

noun:	1. Excess.
	2. Overindulgence in eating or drinking.
	3. Satiety or disgust caused by overindulgence.
verb tr.:	To do or supply anything to excess.
verb intr.:	1. To overindulge.
	2. To suffer from overindulgence.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Old French surfait (excess), from past participle of surfaire (to overdo), from sur- (over, above) + faire (to do), from Latin facere (to do). Earliest documented use: for noun 1387, for verb 1400.

USAGE:

“With a surfeit of municipal golf courses, including numerous ones like Presidio GC ... people are asking why state-owned land is being used to serve the recreational needs of a few.”
Meraj Shah; Walk in the Park; Financial Express (New Delhi, India); May 3, 2020.

“On April 7 it will be 250 years since William Wordsworth was born ... In usual times we’d probably already be surfeited by anniversary celebrations.”
Fiona Sampson; Wordsworth’s Gracious Straightforwardness Revolutionised English Verse; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Apr 4, 2020.

See more usage examples of surfeit in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: