vigesimal | Word of the Day

May 03, 2019 vigesimal [vahy-jes-uh-muhl] adjective 1. of, relating to, or based on twenty. word-trends Celebrating 20 Years Of Word Of The Day! word-trends How Does Adding The Word "Possible" Change News WORD OF THE DAY vigesimal continued... QUOTES Maya numeral systems were vigesimal (base twenty), counted by twenties, four hundreds, eight thousands, and so on, rather than by tens, hundreds, and thousands as in a decimal system. -- Robert J. Sharer with Loa P. Traxler, The Ancient Maya, 6th ed., 2006 ORIGIN The English adjective vigesimal comes from the Latin adjectives vīgēsimus and vīcēsimus (also vīcēnsimus) "twentieth." There is an obvious connection in meaning between the adjectives and the Latin numeral vīgintī "twenty," but there is also an obvious difficulty in form. The fluctuation between -g- and -c- in the Latin words has never been satisfactorily explained, as the expected Latin form would be vīcintī. Vigesimal entered English in the 17th century. MORE FOR YOU 1 Can We Call Products "Meat" or "Milk" If They Don't Come From Animals? In our age of meatless chicken nuggets, tofu hot dogs, and faux burgers that "bleed," what constitutes meat today? 2 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! 3 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? 4 Why We Need Better Terms For People Who Identify As Two Or More Races Read how Professor Nicole Holliday explains why some individuals and groups that identify as two or more races are sensing a lexical gap for terms they would like for their own their specific racial combination. 5 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? © 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