XEROSIS

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 30 November 2011

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XEROSIS  (n. pl. XEROSES)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) abnormal dryness of a body part of tissue

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: XEROTIC (adj.)

Epilogue:
The Greek xeros (“dry”) is a part of many English words pertaining to dryness, as the following selections will illustrate.

Among the more specific forms of anatomical XEROSIS are XERODERMA, “abnormal dryness of the skin,” and XEROPHTHALMIA, “abnormal dryness of the eye.” 

In the botanical world, a XEROPHILE or XEROPHYTE is “a plant adapted to living in a dry habitat and requiring little water” and PHYLLOXERA is “any of several plant lice that produce galls on the leaves and roots of certain grape vines.” 

Turning to the office, the word XEROX — coined as a company name and now used as a common verb — was formed after the slightly younger word XEROGRAPHY (“a dry copying process; photocopying”). 

In ecological circles, you might run into XERIC (“requiring only a small amount of moisture”), XEROSERE (“a succession of ecological communities originating in a dry habitat”), and XERARCH (“of a plant succession having its origin in a dry habitat”).  Or, if you live in the southwestern United States, you might have encountered the word XEROTHERMIC, which means “characterized by heat and dryness.”  In such a climate, one might use XERISCAPE, “a landscaping method developed for arid and semiarid climates that utilizes water conservation techniques.” 

There’s also an African ground squirrel called a XERUS, so named on account of the spiny, dry texture of its hair.  It lives in burrow communities, similar to prairie dogs, and is a cute little devil.

Our well is running dry (that's just a little dry humor), so that is enough for now.  Friday we will wrap up this excellent and exciting week of X words.

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XYLOID

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 29 November 2011

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XYLOID  (adj.)

Definition(s):

1. (adj.) relating to or resembling wood; woody; ligneous

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Epilogue:
Almost all English words beginning with xyl- — and there are quite a few of them — derive from the Greek xylon, meaning “wood.”  Among my other favorites are:

• XYLITOL: a sweet crystalline alcohol, used as a sweetener in some gums and foods
• XYLOCARP: a fruit, such as a coconut, having a hard woody pericarp (fruit wall)
• XYLOGRAPH: an engraving on wood; a woodcut
• XYLOPHAGOUS: feeding on or in wood (as certain insects or crustaceans)

And of course the word that is often used as a common example of a word beginning with X:

• XYLOPHONE: a percussion instrument consisting of a mounted row of wooden bars graduated in length and designed to be struck with small mallets

This week’s theme: Words starting with the letter X

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XENIAL

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 28 November 2011

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XENIAL  (adj.)

Definition(s):

1. (adj.) hospitable; friendly; pertaining to hospitality or to relations among hosts and guests
2. (adj.) pertaining to the effect of pollen on certain plant structures

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: ALEXIN (n.)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: XENIA, XENIAS

Epilogue:
The ancient Greeks placed a high value on the host-guest relationship, which developed into a set of concepts and rituals known as philoxenia (literally, “love of strangers”) — a spirit of hospitality for which Greece is still known.  Reflecting this reality, the ancient Greek word xenos actually had a wide variety of meanings, ranging from “stranger, foreigner” to “guest” to “friend” to “host.”  For this reason, a lot of English words starting with xeno- pertain to things that are “foreign” or “unfamiliar” — such as XENOPHOBIA (“fear of strangers or foreigners”) and XENOPUS (a type of frog with “strange” feet) — but a few (such as XENIAL) relate to the more friendly, hospitable side of the relationship.

Theme:
This week we’ll take a xenial stroll through a few words beginning with the letter X.

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"A great feast of languages..."

Quote of the Week:

Moth:  They have been at a great feast of languages, and stolen the scraps.
Costard:  O! they have lived long on the alms-basket of words. I marvel thy master hath not eaten thee for a word.
~ William Shakespeare (c. 1564-1616), in Love's Labour's Lost (c. 1598)

KIRN

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 23 November 2011

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KIRN  (v. -ED, -ING, -S)

Definition(s):

1. (v.) to churn: to stir or agitate in a vessel, as in making butter
2. (n.) a butter churn
3. (n.) a harvest celebration; a feast or party celebrating a successful harvest
4. (n.) the harvesting of the last handful of corn or grain

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: RINK
• Longer extensions: kirnED, kirnING
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Epilogue:
Harvest celebrations have ancient roots and underlie many religious and mythological practices, and in many cultures the harvesting of the last sheaf of corn was an occasion of special significance.  For example, in Sir James George Frazer’s seminal book The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion he recounts many legends involving “corn mothers” and “corn maidens,” as well as the “kirn baby” ritual:

In some parts of Scotland, as well as in the north of England, the last handful of corn cut on the harvest-field was called the kirn, and the person who carried it off was said to ‘win the kirn.’  It was then dressed up like a child’s doll and went by the name of the kirn-baby, the kirn-doll, or the Maiden.
~ from the chapter on “The Corn-Mother and the Corn-Maiden in Northern Europe”

Sometimes the person who had the honor of cutting the last sheaf was said to “cry the kirn” or “shout the kirn” to acknowledge the event.  Afterwards, a “kirn supper” would be held to celebrate the successful harvest, and the “kirn baby” would be preserved until the following year.  The word MELL was also used in an almost identical manner: to refer to “the last sheaf of corn at harvest time,” as well as to “mell dolls,” “mell suppers,” and the like.

The ultimate derivation of the word KIRN is not known, though it is probably related either to the word CHURN (because, the OED notes, “a churnful of cream was a prominent item in the harvest-supper”) or to the word CORN, with which it was closely associated, as in the Frazer tale above.

Enjoy the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday — an observance that is also rooted in the celebration of a successful harvest.  May you STODGE yourself silly, break the MERRYTHOUGHT, and shout the KIRN to your heart’s delight!

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WISHBONE

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 22 November 2011

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WISHBONE  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a forked bone in front of a bird’s breastbone, consisting chiefly of the two clavicles fused at their median or lower end; a furcula
2. (n.) in football, an offensive formation in which the halfbacks are positioned behind and to either side of the fullback
3. (n.) something shaped like a forked bone

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Epilogue:
While WISHBONE seems a very common word now, it is actually a relatively recent coinage that started appearing in American publications only in the mid-1800s and did not come into widespread usage until the early 1900s.  For about three hundred years prior to that, the standard term for the forked bone in front of a bird’s breastbone was MERRYTHOUGHT.  Now there’s a delightful old word, deserving of revival!

Both MERRYTHOUGHT and WISHBONE come from the ritual of two people breaking the bone, originally with the idea that the person holding the larger part (or in some circles, the smaller part) would be married sooner, or later with the idea that the person would be granted a wish.

For those wanting a more scientific term, the bone is also called a FURCULA or FURCULUM.  Those terms derive from the Latin furca (“fork”), which also serves up FORK, FURCATE, BIFURCATE, TRIFURCATE, and related FORKY words.


This week’s theme: A cornucopia of words inspired by Thanksgiving

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STODGE

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 21 November 2011

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STODGE  (v. STODGED, STODGING, STODGES)

Definition(s):

1. (v.) to stuff (oneself) full with food
2. (n.) heavy, starchy food
3. (n.) a dull person or subject

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -D, -S
• Anagrams: GODETS
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: STODGY, STODGIER, STODGIEST, STODGILY, STODGINESS/ES

Epilogue:
Although the origin is uncertain, English writers have used STODGE as a verb meaning “to stuff full” since at least the late 1600s.  It also developed into a noun referring to heavy, starchy, or uninteresting food, and it is this sense that eventually inspired the adjective STODGY, which now refers primarily to “boring or dull” people.

This week’s theme:
In a few days, most Americans will be STODGING themselves silly and participating in various rituals and family customs associated with the Thanksgiving holiday.  Through Wednesday, we’ll explore a few more words appropriate to this time of year: a virtual cornucopia of words inspired by Thanksgiving.

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"A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged..."

Quote of the Week:

A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged, it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and the time in which it is used.
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes (1841-1935)

VANADIUM

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 18 November 2011

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VANADIUM  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a soft, silvery-white, metallic element (symbol V), used especially in alloys, catalysts, and rust-resistant tools

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: VANADIC (adj.), VANADOUS (adj.), VANADATE (n.), VANADIATE (n.)

Epilogue:
The Swedish chemist who named this element noted its tendency to appear in compounds of various and beautiful colors.  He thus formed the word after Vanadis, one of the alternate names for the deity better known as Freyja, the Norse goddess of love, fertility, and beauty.  VANADIUM’s chemical symbol is V, and it remains the only element beginning with that letter of the alphabet.

Incidentally, the goddess Freyja is closely associated with, and may share historical roots with, the Norse deity Frigg, wife of Odin and goddess of love, marriage, and motherhood.  We memorialize her every week, in the form of the day named after her: Old English frigedaeig became Middle English fridai (and several other creative spellings) and eventually settled down as our modern word Friday.

Happy Friday!

Recapping this week’s words: TANTALUM, ANTIMONY, ARGON, and VANADIUM

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ARGON

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 16 November 2011

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ARGON  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a colorless, odorless, inert gaseous element (symbol Ar), used especially in welding, radio tubes, lasers, and electric bulbs

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: J-
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: GROAN, ORANG, ORGAN
• Longer extensions: argonAUT/S
• Wraparounds: JargonS, JargonY, JargonED, JargonEL/S, JargonEER/S, JargonING, JargonISH, JargonIST/S, JargonIZE (v.), JargonISTIC, PELargonIUM/S
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Epilogue:
The discoverers of ARGON noted that it does not react or combine easily with other elements, making it one of the so-called “inert” gases.  For this reason, they dubbed it ARGON — from the Greek a- (“without”) and ergon (“work”) — roughly meaning the “idle or lazy one.”

This week’s theme: Elements with interesting etymologies

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ANTIMONY

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 15 November 2011

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ANTIMONY  (n. pl. -NIES)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a brittle, silvery-white, metallic element (symbol Sb), used especially in alloys, paints, semiconductors, flame-retardant substances, and medicinal compounds

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -L
• Anagrams: ANTINOMY (n.)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: ANTIMONYL (n.)

Epilogue:
This word first appeared in early alchemy manuals in the Medieval Latin form antimonium, but it is not known exactly what it means or where it ultimately originated.  A popular folk etymology holds that it comes from the French anti-moine, meaning “against monks” or “monks-bane,” in part because ANTIMONY is somewhat poisonous.  More likely, as with many alchemy terms, the word is probably a corruption of an earlier Arabic or Egyptian form. 

ANTIMONY has also been known as STIBIUM (from the ancient Greek and Egyptian names for antimony powder), and its chemical symbol Sb is patterned after that alternate name.  This element also figures in the etymology of the interesting word SOROCHE, as mentioned in an entry from last December.

This week’s theme: Elements with interesting etymologies

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TANTALUM

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 14 November 2011

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TANTALUM  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a hard, grayish-white, rare, metallic element (symbol Ta), used especially in electronic components and nuclear reactors

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: TANTALIC (adj.), TANTALOUS (adj.), TANTALATE (n.), TANTALITE (n.)

Epilogue:
This metallic element was named after Tantalus of Greek mythology because of its insolubility in acids.  Tantalus was forced to endure an eternity of hunger and thirst by being made to stand in a pool in Hades, in which the water drained away each time he knelt to drink from it and in which overhanging fruit boughs receded from his grasp each time he reached for them — a TANTALIZING situation, for sure, and the word TANTALIZE (or TANTALISE) does indeed derive from his name.  The word TANTALUS (“a type of locked wine case whose contents are visible but cannot be obtained without a key”) is also named in honor of this tortured Greek mythological figure.

This week’s theme:
Three new elements recently received official names: darmstadtium (Ds), roentgenium (Rg), and copernicium (Cn).  Each of these new elements were named after people or places, as are many others on the periodic table, but some elements have less obvious histories.  This week we’ll explore a few element names with fascinating etymologies.

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"They sing. They hurt. They teach..."

Quote of the Week:

They sing. They hurt. They teach. They sanctify.
They were man’s first immeasurable feat of magic.
They liberated us from ignorance and our barbarous past.
~ Leo Rosten (1908-1997), "The Power of Words"

WAKERIFE

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 10 November 2011

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WAKERIFE  (adj.)

Definition(s):

1. (adj.) wakeful; alert; vigilant

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Epilogue:
This is an old Scottish word, used by both Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott, two of the most famous writers from that land.  

She was up early, and down late, and seemed, to her over-watched and over-tasked maidens, to be as wakerife as the cat herself.
~ Sir Walter Scott, Waverley Novels: The Pirate (1822)

 The word combines two hardy old Anglo-Saxon words, WAKE and RIFE.  The latter means “abundant” and is also found in RIFER, RIFEST, RIFELY, OVERRIFE, and RIFENESS.  While WAKERIFE maintains a spot in the dictionary and still surfaces occasionally in modern writing, other similarly useful -rife words such as cauldrife (“cold, chilly”), wastrife (“wasteful, extravagant”), and the delightful witrife (“abounding in cunning”) have, regrettably, passed out of the language.

Recapping this week’s words: WOOMERA, WITTOL, WUSHU, and WAKERIFE

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WUSHU

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 9 November 2011

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WUSHU  (n. pl. WUSHU)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) Chinese martial arts
2. (n.) A modern exhibition and full-contact sport based on traditional Chinese martial arts

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Epilogue:
WUSHU and kung fu are sometimes used synonymously to mean “Chinese martial arts,” but many experts draw important distinctions between the two.  For example, WUSHU is the term more properly used for the sport of martial arts, often with an emphasis on form and style, while kung fu is the term more properly used for various systems of self defense, often with an emphasis on effective or real-world fighting ability. 

WUSHU derives from wu (“martial or military”) and shu (“discipline or art”) and until the mid-twentieth century was used primarily to refer to military affairs.  Kung fu simply means “skill or art” — one could be said to have good Scrabble kung fu, for example — though in the Western consciousness it has come to be strongly associated with the martial arts.

This week’s theme: Words starting with the letter W

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WITTOL

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 8 November 2011

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WITTOL  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a man who tolerates his wife’s infidelity; a contented cuckold
2. (n.) a half-witted person; a fool (rare)

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Epilogue:
Love and marriage, and associated notions of trust and infidelity, were major themes of drama and song of the late Middle Ages (c. 1200-1500), and it was during that era that English picked up the following threesome (ahem) of related words: CUCKOLD, CORNUTO, and WITTOL. 

The term CUCKOLD (“the husband of an unfaithful wife”) dates from the 1200s and comes from the name of the cuckoo bird, some varieties of which lay their eggs in the nests of other birds.  The word CORNUTO (which also means “the husband of an unfaithful wife”) dates from the 1400s and relates to a different popular association in which unfaithful husbands were said to “wear horns” — perhaps from an association with the horns of a goat, or perhaps because the husband is imagined to wear metaphorical horns of humiliation.  Thus, it derives from the Latin cornu (“horn”).

WITTOL, also dating from the 1400s, goes further than the other two terms, meaning “a husband who knowingly tolerates his wife’s infidelity.”  There are two theories about its origin: one is that it derives from woodwale or witwall, an archaic name for a bird (probably either a type of oriole or a type of woodpecker) in whose nest the cuckoo sometimes deposited its eggs; the other theory, generally more accepted, is that it is a combination of the old verb wit (“to know”) and the second half of CUCKOLD: that is, literally a “knowing-cuckold,” a wit-old or wittol.

All of these words were once well known and have been employed by Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, Byron, and many other famous writers through the ages.  Today, despite the abundance of talk and reality shows in which they might be put to good use, all three are on the verge of obsolescence.

This week’s theme: Words starting with the letter W

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WOOMERA

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 7 November 2011

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WOOMERA  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a wooden device designed to increase the velocity with which a spear can be hurled, traditionally used by Australian aborigines

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: WOMERA, WOMMERA
• Related Forms: (none)

Epilogue:
Also called a “throwing stick,” WOOMERA / WOMERA / WOMMERA derives from a word in an Australian aboriginal language of the Sydney area: wamara or wu-ma-ra, meaning “spear thrower.”  The other well known Australian throwing stick, the BOOMERANG, also derives from the language of that region, as do the animal names WALLABY and WOMBAT.

Throwing sticks could be very effective in the hands of a skilled practitioner, especially prior to the introduction of firearms.  One observer recounted how “with the aid of a favourite womerah, [the aborigine] could send a long spear, tipped with palm-wood, through a deal plank an inch thick a hundred yards away” (Scott, 1907).  The Aztecs of Mexico used a similar device called an ATLATL (a word deriving from their native Nahuatl language) for hurling darts or small spears, and aboriginal people of the Arctic and of South America are known to have employed similar weapons as well.


This week’s theme: Words starting with the letter W

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"keep a clear head..."

Quote of the Week:

It's amazing how, if you keep a clear head, winning chances will sometimes present themselves in what you thought was a lost cause.
~ Chris Lennon, quoted in Paul McCarthy's Letterati: An Unauthorized Look at Scrabble and the People Who Play It (2008)

Scrabble Strategy Videos

Spreading the Word

An occasional segment wherein TileHead suggests you take a look at an interesting article, book, video, or website.

Online player Curran Eggertson has created a series of Scrabble strategy videos that are worth a look.  He started making them after realizing that almost all of the existing Scrabble instructional videos on the web were of poor quality.  There's not much revelatory here for strong club/tournament players, but, overall, I would recommend these videos for most novice-to-intermediate players looking to take their game to the next level. 

Just released is part 3, a series of videos on tile valuation and synergy:

Scrabble Strategy Guide - 03a - Tile Valuation, Part A
http://youtu.be/bNLk3M_VSM8

If you are new to these videos, it might be a good idea to start with parts 1 and 2 first:

Scrabble Strategy Guide - 01 - Intro
http://youtu.be/X2Cbpd03S8k

Scrabble Strategy Guide - 02 - Opening Play
http://youtu.be/w4ZXCQ3c-p4

And keep an eye out for future strategy videos by Curran.

VIATIC

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 4 November 2011

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VIATIC  (adj.)

Definition(s):

1. (adj.) pertaining to traveling
2. (adj.) pertaining to a road or way

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: A-
• Back hooks: -A
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: viaticAL/S, viaticUM/S,
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: VIATICAL (n.), VIATICUM (n.), VIATICA (pl. n.), VIATOR (n.)

Epilogue:
This word arrived in modern English by way of the Latin viaticus (“pertaining to a journey”) and ultimately from via (“road”).  So too did VIATOR (“a traveler”) and VIATICUM.  The latter originally meant “the Christian Eucharist given to a person who is dying or is in danger of death,” but now usually means “traveling expenses” or more generally “provisions for a journey.”  Similarly, VIATICAL was originally an adjective meaning “pertaining to travel,” but is now also a noun meaning “an arrangement whereby a person having a terminal illness (esp. AIDS) sells his or her life insurance policy to a third party for less than its mature value so that he or she can benefit from the proceeds while alive” (OED).  The sense in all of these words is of travel, whether in this world or beyond.


Recapping this week’s words: VALKYRIE, VIGIA, VICENARY, and VIATIC

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VICENARY

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 3 November 2011

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VICENARY  (adj.)

Definition(s):

1. (adj.) pertaining to the number twenty

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: VIGESIMAL (adj.)

Epilogue:
Our current DECIMAL (base 10) number system is no more logical than QUINARY (5) or VICENARY (20) systems — all rooted in the ancient practice of counting using the fingers and/or toes.  The VICENARY / VIGESIMAL system was common among several ancient cultures of Mesoamerica and South America.  Other common number systems include DUODECIMAL (based on 12, after the number of lunar cycles in a year) and SEXAGESIMAL (based on 60, perhaps after its usefulness in making astronomical calculations).  The sexagesimal system was also mentioned in the SAROS entry of the 28th ultimo.

The Latin viginti (“twenty”) is the root behind VICENARY, as well as:

• VIGESIMAL (adj.): pertaining to the number twenty
• VICENNIAL (adj.): pertaining to a period of twenty years
• VIGINTILLION (n.): originally the twentieth power of a million, or 10 to the 120th power; now often used for 10 to the 63rd power; also occasionally used as a general word referring to a large number

This week’s theme: Words starting with the letter V

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VIGIA

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 2 November 2011

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VIGIA  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a warning on a navigational chart, indicating the possible location of dangerous rocks, shoals, or other obstacles

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Epilogue:
Old sea maps and charts used to be marked with a variety of symbols and notes, indicating the position of rocks, shoals, or other dangers.  When the exact location or existence of such an obstacle was doubtful, it might be marked with the word VIGIA or later with the abbreviations ED or PD (for “existence doubtful” or “position doubtful”).  The term VIGIA derives from Spanish or Portuguese vigia (“a lookout”) and ultimately from the Latin vigilare (“to keep watch, to stay awake”). 

The same root is also the source of VIGIL, VIGILANT, VIGILANTE, VIGILANCE, HYPERVIGILANT, and HYPERVIGILANCE, as well as the verb INVIGILATE (“to watch diligently; especially, to supervise students taking an exam“) and the related nouns INVIGILATOR and INVIGILATION.

This week’s theme: Words starting with the letter V

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