Saturday, April 14, 2018

Merriam-Webster Word of the Day - Succinct

 
 
Merriam-Webster  
 
WORD OF THE DAY
April 14, 2018
 
 
 
 
 
succinct Audio pronunciation
 
adjective | suk-SINKT  
 
Definition
 
:
marked by compact precise expression without wasted words
 
Scroll down for more about succinct
 
 
 
 
PEOPLE ARE READING
 
 
 
WORD GAMES AND QUIZZES: WEEKLY CHALLENGE
 
 
 
More Confusing Words—Quiz
 
How many of these commonly confused words do you know?
 
  PLAY NOW  
 
Nailed this quiz? We have plenty more to try!  TAKE ME THERE  >
 
 
 
Did You Know?
 
The history of succinct might not be short, but it's a cinch to remember. Succinct traces to Latin succinctus ("tightly wrapped, concise"), which comes from the verb cingere ("to gird"), the word that gave us cincture and cinch. In its earliest uses succinct meant "confined" or "girded up," and, as such, it was often used in reference to garments encircled by a band. Eventually, succinct was extended to the realm of insects, where it meant "supported by a band of silk around the middle" (as in "the succinct pupa of a butterfly"). Later, the word was applied to writings. A "succinct" piece of writing is "compressed" or "compact" and uses as few words as possible.
 
 
Examples of SUCCINCT
 
"[Ninni] Holmqvist's writing is spare in style, elegantly succinct, but the layers of the world she's created are manifold."
Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 25 July 2017
 
"[Steve] Bartels' keynote, at a succinct 30 minutes, managed to cover broad ground, including the surge of interest in hip-hop thanks to streaming, which has brought new interest in the genre's catalog."
Leila Cobo, Billboard.com, 7 June 2017
 
Word Family Quiz
 
What word is derived from Latin cingere and refers to any one of the sections that a town or city is divided into for election purposes?
 
VIEW THE ANSWER  >
 
 
 
 
WEBBY AWARDS
 
 
Help Merriam-Webster Win A Webby!
 
We’re thrilled that our app is nominated in the Education & Reference category. Please vote for us and show that words matter!
 
 
 
 
 
  MORE WORD FUN:
 
      TRENDING NOW >
 
      WORDS AT PLAY >

No comments:

Post a Comment

The South Central Bulldog reserves the right to reject any comment for any reason, without explanation.