Word of the Day : July 2, 2019

burgeon \BER-jun\ verb

Definition

1 a : to send forth new growth (such as buds or branches) : sprout

b : bloom

2 : to grow and expand rapidly : flourish

Did You Know?

Burgeon first appeared in Middle English as burjonen—a borrowing from the Anglo-French burjuner, meaning "to bud or sprout." Burgeon is often used figuratively, as when writer P. G. Wodehouse used it in the 1946 novel Joy in the Morning: "I weighed this. It sounded promising. Hope began to burgeon." Usage commentators have objected to the use of burgeon to mean "to flourish" or "to grow rapidly," insisting that any figurative use should stay true to the word's earliest literal meaning and distinguish budding or sprouting from subsequent growing. But the sense of burgeon that indicates growing or expanding and prospering (as in "the burgeoning music scene" or "the burgeoning international market") has been in established use for decades and is, in fact, the most common use of burgeon today.

Aired July 2, 2019

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