Word

The >>Word of the Day<< today over at dictionary.com is >>oblation<<.

>>Oblation<< comes from the past participle form of the Latin verb* >>offerre<< meaning >>to bring<<.

So, an oblation is an offering or a gift.

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* A Latin verb is traditionally cited by giving four forms, in this case: offero, offerre, obtuli, oblatum.

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There it was, word for word,
The poem that took the place of a mountain.


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 – Wallace Stevens (1879-1955)
 – The Poem That Took the Place of a Mountain [1952], st. I

A word has the power to define, to bind, to create, to destroy. Truely, a poet has power undreamt of by kings.

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Once a word has been allowed to escape, it cannot be recalled.

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 – Horace (65-8 B.C.)
 – Epistles, bk. I, epistle xviii, l. 71

And then some more words come along and a paragraph is born.

My favourite word in the English language is »language«. However, if you gave me a slightly larger set of words to choose from I might have more difficulty expressing a preference.

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Words are like leaves; and where they most abound,
Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found.

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 – Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
 – An Essay on Criticism [1711], pt. II, l. 109

Words are like prodigies. They may want to stay inside where it is safe and warm but they'll never live if they never play outside...and find themselves lost in the cold.

The web of words wraps round the whole wide world, concealing the secret numbers underneath.

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Think how much acceptance Mary showed when she said:

»Let it be done to me according to thy word.«

What I feel for you,
I can't put in words,
language won't hold
my desire.

Words are the best toys you can give your brain.

The best way to discover new words is by reading a book.

Which is more useful to you: a dictionary that tells you how to use a word or a dictionary that tells you how a word is used?