anomaly: M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for August 28 is:

anomaly \uh-NAH-muh-lee\ noun
1 : the angular distance of a planet from its perihelion as seen from the sun
2 : deviation from the common rule : irregularity
*3 : something anomalous : something different, abnormal, peculiar, or not easily classified

Example sentence:
Don is something of an anomaly in the world of top management in that he works 9-5 and spends evenings with his family.

Did you know?
You might be familiar with the Greek word "homos," which means "same." It is from this word that we get words like "homonym," "homogeneous," and "homophone," all of which have to do with sameness or similarity. What does this have to do with "anomaly"? Though it's not obvious, "homos" is a part of the etymology of "anomaly," too. "Anomaly" is a descendant of the Greek word "anomalos," which means "uneven" or "irregular." "Anomalos" comes from the prefix "a-" (meaning "not") and the word "homalos" (meaning "even"). And "homalos" comes from "homos."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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