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A.Word.A.Day--volitant

This week we feature a potpourri of words. We opened a dictionary, shook it gently, and these words fell out. They came in all shapes, sizes, and senses. They're short and long. They're flighty and grouchy. Call 'em what you will, a medley of words, a farrago, or a gallimaufry. They're disparate, they're diverse. They are varied and variegated, unclassified and unsorted. And they're all ready to serve.

volitant (VOL-i-tuhnt) adjective

1. Flying or capable of flight.
2. Active; moving about rapidly.

[From Latin volitare (to flutter), from volare (to fly). Volatile and volley descended from the same source.]

"Notwithstanding the volitant simmerings of Gershwin's right-sided tumor, his left brain could have assumed, over time, essential functions of his musical genius, allowing for his terminal inventiveness."
Spencer Nadler; Brain-cell Memories; Harper's (New York); Sep 2000.

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