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July 10, 2018

Word of the Day: Benevolent

1 CQ

Word of the Day : July 10, 2018

benevolent \buh-NEV-uh-lunt\ adjective

Definition

1 a : marked by or disposed to doing good

b : organized for the purpose of doing good

2 : marked by or suggestive of goodwill

Did You Know?

Someone who is benevolent genuinely wishes other people well, which is not surprising if you know the word's history. Benevolent can be traced back to Latin bene, meaning "good," and velle, meaning "to wish." Other descendants of velle in English include volition ("the act or power of making one's choices or decisions"), voluntary, and the rare word velleity (meaning either "the lowest degree of volition" or "a slight wish or tendency"). There is also one more familiar velle descendant: malevolent is the antonym of benevolent, and describes one who is disposed to doing ill instead of good.

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    What is a ruelle?




                                  a second mother-in-law
                                  the space between a bed and the wall
                                  a pillow for one’s elbow
                                  a week and a day








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Aired July 10, 2018

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