propaedeutic: M-W's Word of the Day

****************************************************************
Enjoy two classic references in one handy volume! Check out the
new Merriam-Webster's Dictionary and Thesaurus.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/book.pl?dict-thes.htm&1
****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for October 19 is:

propaedeutic \proh-pih-DOO-tik\ noun
: preparatory study or instruction

Example sentence:
"Families in state programs that stressed immediate work earned ... more per year than families in states that emphasized job training or education as a propaedeutic to work." (Richard Nadler, _National Review_, November 6, 2000)

Did you know?
You don't have to be a walking encyclopedia to use it, but "propaedeutic" does tend to occur mostly in scholarly discussions of learning and education. "I take thinking not to be a source of any moral code or set of ethical principles but a propaedeutic, a preparation for discernment and indeterminate judgment," wrote Dr. Elizabeth Minnich, for example, in _Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning_. "Propaedeutic" might be a "hard" word, but one easy thing to remember about it is that it is closely related to "encyclopedia." "Encyclopedia" is from Greek "paideia," meaning "education," plus "enkyklios," meaning "general." "Propaedeutic" is from Greek "paideuein," meaning "to teach," plus "pro-," which means "before." "Paideia" and "paideuein" both spring from the root "paid-," which means "child."

You Are Subscribed As: wordfortheday.9879@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