A.Word.A.Day --utopia

A.Word.A.Day

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May 10, 2010

This week's theme
Words derived after mythical places

This week's words
utopia
cockaigne
shangri-la
Garden of Eden
Land of Oz

Sir Thomas More

Art: Hans Holbein the Younger (c. 1497-1543)

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A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

With all the hassles of air travel, it's no fun flying any more. Things are different in A.Word.A.Day though. We'll fly you to places far and wide without having to remove remove shoes and jacket and walk through the see-thru scanners at the airport.

This week we have picked five fabled destinations, places that exist only in our collective imagination. So tighten your seat belts and enjoy the ride. You're not in Kansas anymore.

utopia

PRONUNCIATION:

(yoo-TOH-pee-uh)

MEANING:

noun:
1. An ideal place or state.
2. An impractical scheme for social or political reform.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Utopia, an imaginary ideal island in the book Utopia (1516) by Sir Thomas More, from Greek ou (not) + topos (place).

USAGE:

"As we believe simplicity contributes to a peaceful life, we have not bought into the utopia promised by consumerism."
Harry MacLure; Mush Register; The Hindu (Chennai, India); Mar 22, 2010.

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

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't. -Richard Bach, writer (b. 1936)

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