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April 4, 2018

Word of the Day: Career

1 CQ

Word of the Day : April 4, 2018

career \kuh-REER\ verb

Definition

: to go at top speed especially in a headlong manner

Did You Know?

Chances are you're familiar with the verb careen as used in the sense of "to go forward in a headlong or uncontrolled manner." Similarly, you likely know the noun career meaning "a profession for which one trains and which is undertaken as a permanent calling." What you may not know is that the noun career (from Middle French carriere) originally referred to a course or passage (as in "the sun's career across the sky") and to the speed used to traverse such a course. In the context of medieval tournaments, career referred to the charge of mounted knights as well as to the courses they rode. Verb use eventually developed with a general "to go fast" meaning, and later the more specific sense of moving in a reckless or headlong manner. (If you're wondering, career is not etymologically related to careen; careen has nautical origins, tracing to the Latin word for "hull.")

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    Which is a synonym of lugubrious?




                                  homely
                                  mournful
                                  sluggish
                                  plainspoken








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Aired April 4, 2018

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