Saturday, November 1, 2008

VOCABULARY WORD OF THE DAY



THE WORLD IS FULL OF SURPRISES AND WE ARE CAPABLE OF ACCOMPLISHING MANY NEW AND CHALLENGING THINGS IF WE LET OURSELF DREAM. (Brenda A. Ysaguirre)


Today's Word "cynosure"
cynosure \SY-nuh-shoor; SIN-uh-shoor\ (noun) - 1 : Anything to which attention is strongly turned; a center of attraction. 2 : That which serves to guide or direct. 3 : [Capitalized]. The northern constellation Ursa Minor, which contains the North Star; also, the North Star itself. "They would be the cynosure of all eyes. What was a cynosure and why was it never mentioned except in reference to eyes?" -- Ngaio Marsh, 'False Scent' Cynosure derives from Latin cynosura, from Greek kunosoura, "dog's tail, the constellation Ursa Minor," from kuon, kun-, "dog" + oura, "tail."
eian is from Latin plebeius, from plebs, plebis, "the common people."