A.Word.A.Day -- verjuice

A.Word.A.Day

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Oct 29, 2007

This week's theme
Words related to food

This week's words
verjuice
jentacular
cibarious
macaronic
xerophagy

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A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

There are times when we have to eat our words, and that's never pleasant. But this week's words are all edible and potable (from Latin edere: to eat, and potare: to drink). Some describe food, others are used metaphorically, and in some cases, the food origin is hidden in the etymology.

And we have quite a varied menu. We serve words from French, Latin, Italian, and Greek. Bon appétit!

verjuice

(VUHR-joos)

noun: The sour juice of unripe grapes, crab apples, etc.
adjective: Sour in temper.

From French verjus, from vert (green) + jus (juice).

"Then, leaning forward with a most verjuice expression on his pale face, he said, 'Give that gentleman half a minute to get out of the way.'"
Charlotte Brontë; Tales of Angria; 1834.

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