Word Of The Day. 11/05/12-11/09/12.

1. Climacteric

1.

A critical period.

2.

Physiology: a period of decrease of reproductive capacity in men and women, culminating, in women, in the menopause.

3.

A year in which important changes in health, fortune, etc., are held by some theories to occur, as one's sixty-third year

4.

The period of maximum respiration in a fruit, during which it becomes fully ripened.

Origin:

Climacteric originates in the Greek klimakter , "rung of a ladder."

This has been a very climacteric year.

2. Franchise

1.

The right to vote.

2.

A privilege of a public nature conferred on an individual,group, or company by a government.

Origin:

Franchise derives from the Old French word for "freedom," which shares a root with the English frank .

I would franchise today, but I'm only 17 years old.

3. Glean

1.

To learn, discover, or find out, usually little by little or slowly.

2.

To gather (grain or the like) after the reapers or regular gatherers.

3.

To gather slowly and laboriously, bit by bit.

Origin:

Glean  traces its origin back through Latin to the Celtic glan , "clean, pure." The sense "to learn or gather slowly" appears in English before the sense of "to gather grain left by the reapers."

The service uses information gleaned from news sources over the previous week.

 

4. Quid

1.

A piece of something to be chewed but not swallowed.

2.

One pound sterling

Origin:

Quid  is a dialectal variant of the same word in Middle English that leads to cud , the stuff that cows chew.

I'd rather the pay the extra few quid next time for somewhere better.

5. Cahoots

1.

In partnership; in league.

Origin:

Cahoots  enters English in the United States in the 1800s, possibly derived from the French cahute , "cabin, hut," but others trace it to the roots of the English word cohort .

The police asked the robbers best friend if he was in cahoots with him during the robbery.