This week in AWAD: assorted words. velitation (vel-i-TAY-shuhn) noun
A minor dispute or skirmish. [From Latin velitation-, from velitatus, past participle of velitari (to skirmish), from veles (light-armed foot soldier). Ultimately from Indo-European root weg- (to be strong or lively), that's the source for vegetable (Kids, etymology gives you another reason to eat your veggies!), vigor, velocity, watch, vigilante, and vigil.] "And in a tense atmosphere of mistrust, with normal diplomatic channels severed, any small clash or velitation can spur escalation back to full-scale war." Virginia Page Fortna; Peace Time; Princeton University Press; 2004. Sponsors' Messages: Give an awesome stocking stuffer: Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty! Friends and family adore its fun colors and adult-sized handfuls: http://puttyworld.com Derivation, a fascinating game about word and phrase origins. A great gift! http://entspire.com or http://amazon.com/o/asin/b00005btb8/entspire-20 Check out our three newest and punniest T-shirts: Pythagoras, Pi and Euclid, perhaps our best yet. http://www.mentalfloss.com/ ............................................................................ When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people. -Abraham Joshua Heschel, theology professor (1907-1972) Share the magic of words. Send a gift subscription of A.Word.A.Day: http://wordsmith.org/awad/gift.html Pronunciation: http://wordsmith.org/words/velitation.wav http://wordsmith.org/words/velitation.ram Permalink: http://wordsmith.org/words/velitation.html This message was sent to "[email protected]".
