This week’s theme
Words that aren’t what they appear to be

This week’s words
toxophily
supercargo
votive
verbigerate
recreant

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(VOH-tiv)

MEANING:

adjective: Relating to a vow, wish, desire, etc.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin votum (vow), from vovere (to vow), which also gave us vow, vote, and devote. Earliest documented use: 1582.

NOTES:

If you have ever tossed a coin into a wishing well, you have made a votive offering: giving a coin to the wishing well god(s) in the hope they fulfill your wish. More often, a votive offering takes the form of lighting a candle in a church. These offerings could be made in fulfillment of a vow or in devotion. In an extended sense, the word votive is also used as a noun to refer to those candles.

USAGE:

“Prehistoric reverence for watery places might suggest that the shield was deposited there as a votive gift to the gods -- potentially after a successful battle.”
David Keys; Ancient Celtic Warriors Perfected Bouncy Shields; The Independent (London, UK); May 24, 2019.

See more usage examples of votive in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: