Word of the Day – R – Page 6

Word of the Day: ROTUNDANT

ETYMOLOGY
from rotund (adj.) + -ant, after quadrant

EXAMPLE
“…He is a good anatomist to scrue into the very center of a loaf, and to pry into the joynt of separation. A good surveyour only, he measures not by the chaine nor the quadrant, no, by the retundant* rather, i.e. the jugg…”

From: Confused Characters of Conceited Coxcombs,
Or, A Dish of Traitorous Tyrants
K.W., 1661

Note: – * ‘retundant’ as shown in the above example is correct
– The Oxford English Dictionary only shows ‘rotundant’ as a noun.
However, there are examples of it being used as an adjective, as in this example from 1846:
“…“Oh!” exclaimed the rotundant figure of the queen…”

Word of the Day: RAUCID

ETYMOLOGY
from Latin raucus (adj.) hoarse, harsh, raucous + -id

FIRST DOCUMENTED USE
1730 – see EXAMPLE below

EXAMPLE
“…In Needy Thraldom, fearful, darkling lay,
Expected fond were the sweet-warbled Ode
Of vig’rous Stretch; when not th’ Elegiac Tone
Which on Maander’s Stream the raucid Swan,
At Fate’s Approach, was storied erst t’ emit,
The pining, heartless, wasted Pris’ner groans…”

From: Freedom; A Poem, Written in Time of Recess from the Rapacious Claws of Bailiffs, and Devouring Fangs of Goalers
To which is annexed The Author’s Case
– Andrew Brice