deference: M-W's Word of the Day

****************************************************************
Just staring at those letter tiles on your tray? Check out the new Fourth Edition of The Official SCRABBLE Players Dictionary!
http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/book.pl?scrabdic.htm&3
****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for February 5 is:

deference \DEF-uh-runss\ noun
: respect and esteem due a superior or an elder; also : affected or ingratiating regard for another's wishes

Example sentence:
"In deference to our visitors from Brazil," the host said, "the ceremony will be conducted in both English and Portuguese."

Did you know?
We need to be very specific when we tell you that "deference" and "defer" both derive from the Latin "deferre," which means "to bring down" or "to carry away." You might also have heard that "defer" traces to the Latin "differre," which means "to postpone" or "to differ." So which root is right? Both are. That's because English has two verbs, or homographs, spelled "defer." One means "to submit or delegate to another" (as in "I defer to your greater expertise"). That's the one that is closely related to "deference" and that comes from "deferre." The other means "put off or delay" (as in "we decided to defer the decision until next month"); that second "defer" derives from "differre."

You Are Subscribed As: WORDFORTHEDAY.DROP@blogger.com
To unsubscribe, change your e-mail address or to subscribe to the html
version of Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day, featuring audio
pronunciations, please visit:

http://www.startsampling.com/sm/wod/changeofaddress.iphtml

(c) 2006 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

Merriam-Webster, Inc.
47 Federal Street
P.O. Box 281
Springfield, MA 01102

*mf mwt 020506 WORDFORTHEDAY.DROP@blogger.com mf*