Word of the Day : November 22, 2020

debouch \dih-BOUTCH\ verb

Definition

1 : to cause to emerge : discharge

2 : to march out into open ground : emerge, issue

Did You Know?

Debouch first appeared in English in the 18th century. It derives from a French verb formed from the prefix de- ("from") and the noun bouche ("mouth"), which itself derives ultimately from the Latin bucca ("cheek"). Debouch is often used in military contexts to refer to the action of troops proceeding from a closed space to an open one. It is also used frequently to refer to the emergence of anything from a mouth, such as water passing through the mouth of a river into an ocean. The word's ancestors have also given English the adjective buccal ("of or relating to the mouth") and the noun embouchure (the mouthpiece of a musical instrument or the position of the mouth when playing one).

Aired November 22, 2020

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