Message-ID: <30077746.1075841986955.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 02:00:00 -0800 (PST) From: word@m-w.com To: mw-wod@listserv.webster.m-w.com Subject: constellate: M-W's Word of the Day Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-From: word@M-W.COM X-To: MW-WOD@LISTSERV.WEBSTER.M-W.COM X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \ExMerge - White, Stacey W.\Deleted Items X-Origin: WHITE-S X-FileName: stacy white 7-15-02.PST *************************************************************** He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Find him and other winners in Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of American Writers. http://www.m-w.com/book/peoplace/amwrit.htm *************************************************************** The Word of the Day for January 18 is: constellate \KAHN-stuh-layt\ (verb) transitive senses 1 : to unite in a cluster 2 : to set or adorn with or as if with constellations *intransitive sense : cluster Example sentence: "[Fireflies] constellate and then, for a moment, they all go dark at once." (_The New York Times_, July 5, 1997) Did you know? It's plain that "constellate" is related to "constellation," and indeed, things that "constellate" (or "are constellated") cluster together like stars in a constellation. Both words derive ultimately from the Latin word for "star," which is "stella." "Constellation" (which came to us by way of Middle French from Late Latin "constellation-, constellatio") entered the language first -- it dates to at least the 14th century. "Constellate" appeared on the scene a few centuries later, in the mid-17th century. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. ---------------- Brought to you by Merriam-Webster, Inc. http://www.Merriam-Webster.com ---------------- Subscribe or unsubscribe to Word of the Day via the Web at: http://www.Merriam-Webster.com/service/subinst.htm To join the list via e-mail, send a blank e-mail to: mw-wod-subscribe-request@listserv.webster.m-w.com To leave the list via e-mail, send a blank e-mail to: mw-wod-signoff-request@listserv.webster.m-w.com Questions about your subscription? Write to: mw-wod-request@listserv.webster.m-w.com Questions or comments about the Word of the Day? Write to: word@Merriam-Webster.com (c) 2002 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated