A.Word.A.Day --tyro

A.Word.A.Day

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May 23, 2011

This week's theme
Words to describe people

This week's words
tyro
reactionary
concupiscent
callow
panjandrum

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A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

Sometime later this year the population of the world is going to surpass seven billion (see 1, 2). This many people on the face of the earth has experts concerned about the demand for food, the effect on the environment, and more. But here at Wordsmith.org we are worried about something else.

As someone once said, we are all unique, just like everyone else. So where do you find words to describe all these people? We do our part in helping solve this problem. This week we'll feature five words to describe various people.

You don't need many words to describe them all because with just 33 words one can make 8.59 billion unique combinations.

tyro or tiro

PRONUNCIATION:

(TY-roh)

MEANING:

noun: One who is beginning to learn something.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin tiro (young soldier, recruit). Earliest documented use: 1611.

USAGE:

"It seems as if the latest young tyro is in contact with his inner old fogey."
Donald Clarke; Shadow Lands; The Irish Times (Dublin); Apr 22, 2011.

"So what's a digital-media tyro like you doing at a fusty old-media company?"
Interview: Jim Lanzone; Adweek (New York); May 2, 2011.

See more usage examples of tyro in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Only the good doubt their own goodness, which is what makes them good in the first place. The bad know they are good, but the good know nothing. They spend their lives forgiving others, but they can't forgive themselves. -Paul Auster, novelist and poet (b. 1947)

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