Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Webster words of the day and Podcast

erudite \AIR-uh-dyte\ adjective

: possessing or displaying extensive knowledge acquired chiefly from books : learned

Example sentence:
The university hosted an informative lecture given by an erudite scholar of Cold War history.

esoteric \es-uh-TAIR-ik\ adjective

*1 : designed for or understood by a small number of people; broadly: difficult to understand
2 : private, confidential

Example sentence:
Computer programming was once an esoteric subject, but beginner courses and how-to books have made it easier to grasp.

Ma·chi·a·vel·lian
Pronunciation: \ˌma-kē-ə-ˈve-lē-ən, -ˈvel-yən\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Niccolo Machiavelli
Date: 1572
1: of or relating to Machiavelli or Machiavellianism
2: suggesting the principles of conduct laid down by Machiavelli ; specifically : marked by cunning, duplicity, or bad faith

1 comment:

Linda said...

Thanks for the lesson Tal! I've never really seen an exact definition of either of these words. Love it!