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A.Word.A.Day--vexillology

Pronunciation RealAudio

vexillology (vek-si-LOL-uh-jee) noun

The study of flags.

[From Latin vexillum (flag), diminutive of velum (covering) + -logy.]

Can you identify three words that are related to today's word in the following sentence?
"The bride removed the voile veil to reveal her lovely face."
The words are voile, veil, and reveal, all of which are descendants of Latin velum and involve the idea of covering (or uncovering in case of "reveal"). -Anu

PS: Here are the flags of more than 200 countries and territories where AWAD subscribers live, and other stats.

"He (Whitney Smith) met his second wife in 1975 when he went to Suriname to see its new flag hoisted for the first time. When he began dating his third, and current, wife, he told her he was married to vexillology."
Irene Sege; Banner Days: This Foremost Expert on Flags Has a Singular View of the World; Boston Globe; Nov 21, 2001.

"Until we can get past threats of boycott, unforgetting bumper stickers and back-room deals, why not an interim state flag that isn't the ugliest in 50 states and Canada, one that looks good and meets the vexillology test of meaningful symbols? A green dollar bill on a field of white."
Jim Minter; Epitome of Ugliness: Let New Georgia Flag Wave Goodbye; The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Jul 3, 2001.

X-Bonus

The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, / And all the sweet serenity of books. -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, poet (1807-1882)

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