Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Word of the Day glade

Word of the Day

  • glade
  • audio pronunciation
  • \GLAYD\
  • DEFINITION
noun
: an open space surrounded by woods
  • EXAMPLES
"Whenever they got a glimpse of the sun in an open glade they seemed unaccountably to have veered eastwards." — From J.R.R. Tolkien's 1954 book The Fellowship of the Ring

"On the surface—sylphs and a poet in a moonlit glade before a ruined abbey—'Sylphides' looks quaint, a study in preciosity; but the lovely construction of its dances renders its poetry fresh." — From a review by Alastair Macaulay in The New York Times, November 4, 2013
  • DID YOU KNOW?
We know that "glade" has been with us since at least the early 1500s, though the word's origins remain a bit of a mystery. "Glade," which originally was often used not just to indicate a clearing in the woods but one which was also filled with sunlight, may come from the adjective "glad." In Middle English, "glad" also meant "shining," a meaning that goes back to the word's Old English ancestor, "glæd." "Glæd" is akin to Old High German "glat" ("shining, smooth") and Old Norse "glathr" ("sunny"). It may also be a relative of Old English "geolu," the ancestor of the modern English word "yellow."

Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/#kox4bUtjIsVUfzAA.99

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