nepotism: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for December 11 is:

nepotism \NEP-uh-tiz-um\ noun
: favoritism (as in appointment to a job) based on kinship

Example sentence:
Being the son of the CEO, Jamie knew he got his position as marketing director partly through nepotism, but he nevertheless felt confident that he had the know-how and imagination to improve sales.

Did you know?
During his papacy from 1471-1484, Sixtus IV granted many special favors to members of his own family, in particular his nephews. This practice of papal favoritism was carried on by his successors, and in 1667 it was the subject of Gregorio Leti's book _Il Nipotismo di Roma_ -- a history of the popes' nephews. (In Italian, "nepote" means "nephew.") Shortly after the book's appearance, "nepotism" began to be used in English for the showing of special favor or unfair preference to a relative by someone in any position of power, be it ecclesiastical or not.

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