Word of the day: recidivism
Word of the Day: Recidivism (noun)
Pronunciation: [ri-'sid-ê-viz-êm]
Definition: A relapse or reversion to a previous nature, character, or state; back-sliding.
Usage: Keep in mind that today's word refers to any sort of relapse or back-sliding, not just a relapse into misbehavior. There is recidivism among those suffering mental and physical disorders, as there is among those who convert to new religions. Today's word is an odd sort of noun accompanied by the verb "recidivate," which sports a more expectable but less often used noun, "recidivation," with the same meaning. A person guilty of recidivism is a recidivist. The adjective is "recidivous" and the adverb, "recidivously."
Suggested Usage: Our hope in bringing up this word is to encourage everyone to use it more broadly. Its meaning has almost been crimped to that of a relapse to criminal misbehavior; it means far more: "Recidivism among dieters peaks between Christmas and the New Year holidays." Let your imagination be your guide, "Recidivism among those who leave politics is encouragingly low."
Etymology: Today's word was created by analogy from "recidivist," itself taken from French récidiviste, a noun derived from récidiver "to relapse," inherited from Medieval Latin recidivare "to fall back." "Recidivare" is an extension of recidere "to fall back, relapse, return" based on re- "back" + cadere "to fall." The Latin root cad- comes from Proto-Indo-European *kad- "fall," which we also find in Sanskrit s'ad- "fall off" and Armenian çacnum "fall, come down." Latin "cadere" underlies English "cadence," "casual," "cadaver," and "case" (German uses a similar sense: Fall "case, instance").
-Dr. Language, YourDictionary.com
Pronunciation: [ri-'sid-ê-viz-êm]
Definition: A relapse or reversion to a previous nature, character, or state; back-sliding.
Usage: Keep in mind that today's word refers to any sort of relapse or back-sliding, not just a relapse into misbehavior. There is recidivism among those suffering mental and physical disorders, as there is among those who convert to new religions. Today's word is an odd sort of noun accompanied by the verb "recidivate," which sports a more expectable but less often used noun, "recidivation," with the same meaning. A person guilty of recidivism is a recidivist. The adjective is "recidivous" and the adverb, "recidivously."
Suggested Usage: Our hope in bringing up this word is to encourage everyone to use it more broadly. Its meaning has almost been crimped to that of a relapse to criminal misbehavior; it means far more: "Recidivism among dieters peaks between Christmas and the New Year holidays." Let your imagination be your guide, "Recidivism among those who leave politics is encouragingly low."
Etymology: Today's word was created by analogy from "recidivist," itself taken from French récidiviste, a noun derived from récidiver "to relapse," inherited from Medieval Latin recidivare "to fall back." "Recidivare" is an extension of recidere "to fall back, relapse, return" based on re- "back" + cadere "to fall." The Latin root cad- comes from Proto-Indo-European *kad- "fall," which we also find in Sanskrit s'ad- "fall off" and Armenian çacnum "fall, come down." Latin "cadere" underlies English "cadence," "casual," "cadaver," and "case" (German uses a similar sense: Fall "case, instance").
-Dr. Language, YourDictionary.com