august | Word of the Day

August 01, 2019 august [aw-guhst] adjective 1. inspiring reverence or admiration; of supreme dignity or grandeur; majestic: an august performance of a religious drama. ways-to-say 11 Unique Words Or Phrases For Wedding Vows And Toasts slang The Greatest Language Hits Of Black Music WORD OF THE DAY august continued... QUOTES We have before observed, that there is generally in nature something more grand and august than what we meet with in the curiosities of art. -- Joseph Addison, "No. 414, Paper IV: On the Pleasures of the Imagination," The Spectator, June 25, 1712 ORIGIN The English adjective august ultimately derives from the Latin adjective augustus, an uncommon, quasi-religious adjective originally meaning "venerable, solemn," first used by the Roman poet and playwright Ennius (239-169 b.c.). Augustus also means "majestic (in appearance), dignified," as used in authors who lived before the emperor Augustus or were contemporary with him. The etymology of augustus is unclear: it may be related to the verb augēre "to increase, enlarge, grow," or it may be related to the noun augur, a noun of unknown etymology meaning "a Roman official who observes the flight of birds and interprets the omens." Finally, it may be related to auspex, a synonym of augur but with an excellent etymology: avis "bird" and -spex "watcher," from the verb specere "to observe." It is also unclear why Octavian (the English short form of Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus), the sole head of the Roman state after the Battle of Actium (31 b.c.), selected the old, obscure title Augustus for himself. Octavian had also styled himself Rōmulus, the legendary founder and first king of Rome, and Octavian, perhaps wishing to avoid associations with the monarchy, settled upon Augustus. On January 16, 27 b.c., the Senate bestowed upon Octavian the titles Augustus and Princeps (Civītātis) "First Citizen (of the State), First Man (of the State)," and Augustus became the emperor's official title. After Augustus's time, the title Augustus was applied to succeeding emperors; the feminine title Augusta was given to the emperor's wife (and occasionally to other close female relatives, such as a mother, grandmother, sister, or daughter). August entered English in the late 16th century. MORE FOR YOU 1 English Could Really Use These 9 Wunderbar German Words Many intimidating German terms actually pack in some truly amazing concepts—all in a single word. So, we think it would be wunderbar ("wonderful") if English embraced these nine (not nein!) German gems. 2 Why Is "Bisexual" Such A Charged Word In 2019? As the language around gender and sexuality broadens, what it means to be bisexual broadens, too—making it all the more important to attend to the health needs and outcomes for a growing population that is often overlooked when we talk about the LGBTQ community as a whole. 3 Test Your Vocab With This Week's Word Of The Day Quiz! July 15–21, 2019: There's no remora here ... this week's Word of the Day quiz is up and ready for ya. It's time to elevate your vocabulary. Ready? Go! 4 What Are Users Looking Up on Dictionary.com Every Day? You may have noticed a nifty new tool scrolling across the top of Dictionary.com. But, what makes it tick? 5 Exculpate, Mockumentary, Burpless, And Other Words That Trended On Dictionary.com This Past Week In this batch of trending words, we offer a "stirring" mix of 10 terms that trended (i.e., significantly increased by percentage measured against searches on the the previous day). © 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 400 Oakland CA 94607 Manage your subscription Terms & Privacy