Word of the Day : November 30, 2020

ambient \AM-bee-unt\ adjective

Definition

1 : existing or present on all sides : encompassing

2 of electronic music : quiet and relaxing with melodies that repeat many times

Did You Know?

Biologists explore the effects of ambient light on plants; acoustics experts try to control ambient sound; and meteorologists study ambient pressure, air, or temperature. All this can make ambient seem like a technical term, but when it first saw light of day, that all-encompassing adjective was as likely to be used in poetry as in science. John Milton used it in Paradise Lost, and Alexander Pope wrote of a mountain "whose tow'ring summit ambient clouds conceal'd." Both poets and scientists who use ambient owe a debt to the Latin verb ambire, meaning "to go around," the grandparent of our English word.

Aired November 30, 2020

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