Good morning, Word Nerds! Last week’s Word of the Week (WOW) was septentrional. Merriam-Webster Online says that septentrional means: northern. (And that’s probably why septentrional is the bottom 20% of words currently used by English-speakers!) It refers to the septentriones, which means the seven stars of Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) and the Ursa Minor (The Little Dipper). Since these constellations are normally in the northern sky, septentrional became known as northern or the north. That’s your astronomy lesson for today!

This week’s WOW is solecism. Here are my guesses for the definition of solecism:

solecism (ˈsä-lə-ˌsi-zəm) 1. the study of oneness 2. solemnity 3. examining the bottom of one’s shoes

What’s your guess for solecism? Post a comment below and let me know what you think!

Wednesday’s Post: Examining Examen…

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