juncture: M-W's Word of the Day

****************************************************************
Introducing WORD SWEEP!, the first board game to feature Merriam-Webster definitions! Enjoy hours of challenging fun. Try it at: http://www.wordsweep.com
****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for January 4 is:

juncture \JUNK-cher\ noun
1 : joint, connection
*2 : a point of time; especially : one made critical by a concurrence of circumstances

Example sentence:
"At this juncture in the editing process," said Philip, "it is important that all facts have been double-checked and sources verified."

Did you know?
"Juncture" has many relatives in English -- and some of them are easy to spot, whereas others are not so obvious. "Juncture" derives from the Latin verb "jungere" ("to join"), which gave us not only "join" and "junction" but also "conjugal" ("relating to marriage") and "junta" ("a group of persons controlling a government"). "Jungere" also has distant etymological connections to "joust," "jugular," "juxtapose," "yoga" and "yoke." The use of "juncture" in English dates back to the 14th century. Originally, the word meant "a place where two or more things are joined," but by the 17th century it could also be used of an important point in time or of a stage in a process or activity.

*Indicates the sense illustrated by the example sentence

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) 2007 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

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