rhubarb | Word of the Day

April 24, 2019 rhubarb [roo-bahrb] noun 1. a quarrel or squabble. word-trends How Does Adding The Word "Possible" Change News word-trends What's Happening With The Word "Unicorn"? WORD OF THE DAY rhubarb continued... QUOTES Power, newly acquired from the Minnesota Twins, was accused of the action during a rhubarb with the umpire on a play at third base. -- Jet, "'Spitting' Accusation May Cost Vic Power $1,750," July 30, 1964 ORIGIN Rhubarb has a complicated origin. There are several odd Middle English spellings (as one would expect), e.g., reubarb, reubard, reubarbe, etc., from Anglo-French or Middle French reubarbe, rubarbe, reu barbare, all from Late Latin reubarbarum, rheubarbarum. The Latin forms are probably from Greek rhêon bárbaron "foreign rhubarb." Rhêon is a variant of rhâ "the dried root of rhubarb used as a medicine," perhaps ultimately related to Persian (an Iranian language) rewend "rhubarb." Ancient Greek authors also associated rhâ (or Rhâ) with the Scythian (another Iranian language) name for the Volga River. The baseball slang meaning of rhubarb "a loud quarrel on the field, especially between a player and an umpire," dates from about 1938. Rhubarb entered English in the late 14th century. MORE FOR YOU 1 The Google Effect And More 'Rules' The Internet Created Who needs to stash away names and dates into our longterm memory when we have Google? And, guess what, that phenomenon has a name! 2 Dissent vs. Protest: Why Choosing The Right Word Matters It seems political conflict in the 2010s has put the words dissent and protest at the center of our vocabulary. But are we using them correctly? 3 Does "Spark Joy" Mean The Same Thing In English And Japanese? In the context of the KonMari method, joy goes beyond just happiness. So what does it actually mean in Japanese, then? 4 Is There A Difference Between "Calling In" And "Calling Out"? Do you say "calling out sick" or "calling in sick"? That debate could go on forever. But, "calling out" and "calling in" actually have very specific meanings in the world of social justice. 5 Hashtags To Help You Get By On Social Media Sometimes, it's hard to keep track of all these hashtags and what they mean. So, we've rounded up some of our favorite hashtags from the past couple years to help you navigate the social media weeds. #amazeballs © 2019 Dictionary.com, LLC. ABOUT CONTACT You are subscribed to the Word of the Day as: matzom229@gmail.com Subscriber since: September 06, 2017 Unsubscribe Dictionary.com, LLC. 555 12th Street Suite 500 Oakland CA 94607 Manage your subscription Terms & Privacy