Word of the Week.

Starting today, I am going to post a Word of the Week every Tuesday. I got inspired by Ed over at Lexicolatry, who is reading the Oxford English Dictionary, and posts a word from his reading each day. I will post words that I discover by various means, but most commonly, they will come from a random opening in the dictionary. I shall be using The Ultimate Book of Words Students Should Know (BOW), in conjunction with The American Heritage College Dictionary (AH) .

The Ultimate Book of Words Students Should Know is an awesome tool for college and high school students in particular. This dictionary uses simple language definitions, phonetic pronunciation keys, and then uses the word in a sentence, further conveying the meaning and proper use of the word. Invaluable for someone who likes words, but isn't quite sure how to work them into a paper or conversation.

I'll be honest, I love my collegiate dictionary. American Heritage just happened to be the hardback dictionary the college bookstore was selling when I needed one, but I probably would have gone with it compared to others, for purely superficial reasons. It's pretty. It's a rich burgundy, not a glaring red (here's looking at you, Merriam-Webster), with gold trim. This dictionary looks formal and professional. It also has those fantastic paint-splattered-looking page edges. It's also large enough to have the words I need, but small enough to not be cumbersome.

Why use both? Well, I like the fact that the BOW narrows down to some of the more colorful words, instead of including every word and historical figure. I like the formality of the AH, and the fact that the definitions often include colorful words as well.

Anyway.

Down to business.

The Word of the Week IS:

Nugatory.

(BOW)
(NOO-guh-tor-ee), adjective.
Insignificant; having little importance; pointless or without purpose; or ineffective or meaningless; powerless; worthless.

(AH)
adj. 1. Of little or no importance; trifling.
2. Having no force; invalid.
(Latin: nugatorius)

PAUSE. Trifling. What a Wonderful Word. /pause.

Some people consider hair bows a nugatory accessory, but, to me, they are essential.

There is a school of thought that perceives cursive writing as a nugatory skill.


There you have it!



I know this is supposed to be a D-blog, but there is more to me than diabetes. And the educator in me says that learning never hurts anyone :).