A.Word.A.Day

Question 1

tractable

(TRAK-tuh-buhl)

Answer 1

MEANING:

adjective: Easily handled, managed, or controlled.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin tractare (to handle), frequentative of trahere (draw). Earliest documented use: 1504.

USAGE:

“‘I don’t want to go there,’ said Sharina, who was normally such a tractable child.”
Susan Palwick; Hhasalin; Fantasy & Science Fiction (Cornwall, Connecticut); Sep/Oct 2013.

Question 2

Prospero

(PROS-puh-roh)

Answer 2

MEANING:

noun: Someone who is capable of influencing others’ behavior or perceptions without their being aware of it.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Prospero, the deposed Duke of Milan and a magician, in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Earliest documented use: 1785.

USAGE:

"Melliora is the Prospero who engineers a return to social order entirely in accord with her desires."
David Oakleaf (ed.), Eliza Haywood; Love in Excess; Broadview Press; 2000.

Question 3

Romeo

(RO-mee-o)

Answer 3

MEANING:

noun: A man who is a passionate lover or seducer.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Romeo, the hero in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. While Shakespeare’s play popularized it, the story itself originated in folklore and is much older. Earliest documented use: 1566.

USAGE:

“The square’s scribes were once famous as stand-in Romeos, writing love letters. Sometimes, the same scribe would find himself handling both sides of the correspondence for a courting pair.”
The Scribes’ Lament; The Economist (London, UK); Nov 20, 2008.

Question 4

Timon

(TY-muhn)

Answer 4

MEANING:

noun: One who hates or distrusts humankind.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Timon, the misanthropic hero of Shakespeare’s play Timon of Athens. Earliest documented use: 1598.

USAGE:

“My soul was swallowed up in bitterness and hate … I saw nothing to do but live apart like a Timon.”
Upton Sinclair; Prince Hagen; Heinemann; 1903.

Question 5

Portia

(POR-shuh, -shee-uh)

Answer 5

MEANING:

noun: A female lawyer.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Portia, the heroine of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. Portia is a rich heiress who disguises herself as a lawyer to save Antonio’s life. Earliest documented use: 1869.

USAGE:

“‘Listen sister…law isn’t the only subject I’ve mastered!’ snaps Betty, … ‘I may be a Portia, but my middle name’s Dempsey!’”
Mike Madrid; Divas, Dames & Daredevils; Exterminating Angel Press; 2013.

Question 6

Dogberry

(DOG-ber-ee, -buh-ree)

Answer 6

MEANING:

noun: A pompous, incompetent, self-important official.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Dogberry, a constable in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, in which he goes about his blundering ways while mouthing malapropisms. Earliest documented use: 1801.

USAGE:

“Why doesn’t he do something, then? Ignorant Dogberry! Useless bumpkin! Calls himself a copper and doesn’t even know where to start!”
Edmund Crispin; The Glimpses of the Moon; Gollancz; 1977.

“The mayor of Bangor, Maine, vetoed a time-altering resolution passed by its city council … for which Railway Age lampooned him in an editorial that began ‘A Dogberry who holds the office of mayor.’”
Jack Beatty; Age of Betrayal; Knopf; 2007.

Question 7

bombastic

(bom-BAS-tik)

Answer 7

MEANING:

adjective: Pompous or pretentious (in speech or writing).

ETYMOLOGY:

From Old French bombace (cotton padding), from Latin bombax (cotton). Earliest documented use: 1704.

USAGE:

“Mr. Satya Nadella is a leader with a low-key style that differs from Mr. Ballmer’s bombastic manner.”
Nick Wingfield; Microsoft Names New Chief; The New York Times; Feb 4, 2014.