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The word for today is… cygnet (noun): : a young swan Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Middle English sygnett, from Anglo-French cignet, from cigne swan, from Latin cycnus, cygnus, from Greek kyknos. First used in the 15th century. If you enjoyed this BFD word of the day please consider sharing it with
Emails released by the Prime Minister’s Office show there was concern about why disgraced arts patron James Wallace was able to keep his knighthood long after being convicted, while a letter also suggested there was opposition to stripping him of the honour. Communications released to the Herald by the
The word for today is… signet (noun, verb): noun 1: a seal used officially to give personal authority to a document in lieu of signature 2: the impression made by or as if by a signet 3: a small intaglio seal (as in a finger ring) verb : to stamp or
New Zealand plant-based “meat” business Sunfed’s chief executive and founder Sukul Lee says she is in the process of shutting it down. The business has been running since 2015, aiming to provide meat alternatives. The products are sold in New Zealand and Australia. But Lee posted a video to
The word for today is… gratuitous (adjective): 1: not called for by the circumstances : not necessary, appropriate, or justified : unwarranted 2a: given unearned or without recompense b: costing nothing : free c: law : not involving a return benefit, compensation, or consideration Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Like gratitude, grace, and congratulate, gratuitous
The Doctor Despite what we have been told, there are really two worlds. These worlds mirror each other. One is the real world created by God which I will call “the earth”. The other is also thousands of years old but it was created by man. Let us keep calling
Aimee-Rose Yates never expected to hear that she had metastatic bowel cancer at just 29. The Auckland woman had spells of diarrhoea prior to her diagnosis in July 2022, but said she didn’t have any other obvious signs pointing to cancer. Instead, her disease was discovered almost by chance.
The word for today is… zeitgeber (noun): : an environmental agent or event (such as the occurrence of light or dark) that provides the stimulus setting or resetting a biological clock of an organism Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Zeitgebers are alarm clocks—both biologically and etymologically. The word zeitgeber comes from
The teen offender was charged with two counts of rape, four of indecent assault and two of unlawful sexual connection, all of which were proven and dealt with in the Youth Court. While serious offences such as rape can be transferred to the District Court, where the youth would receive
The word for today is… acquisitive (adjective): Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : While acquisitive is a useful synonym of the likes of greedy and avaricious, it’s relatively unknown compared to its more popular lexical relations, acquire and acquisition. The former of that pair is most often used to mean “to
The word for today is… prognosticate (verb): 1: to foretell from signs or symptoms : predict 2: to give an indication of in advance : foreshadow Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Prognosticate, which ultimately traces back to the Greek word prognostikos (“knowing beforehand, prescient”), first appears in English during the 15th century. Since
The sailing world is in shock after the death of “genius” sail designer, Gautier Sergent at just 47. Sergent, a Frenchman who was the lead sail designer for Alinghi Red Bull Racing’s America’s Cup challenge in Barcelona later this year, previously spent several years working in Auckland for
The word for today is… bailiwick (noun): 1 law enforcement : the office or jurisdiction of a bailiff 2: the sphere in which one has superior knowledge or authority : a special domain Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The first half of the word bailiwick comes from the Middle English word for “bailiff”
David Seymour’s new ministry, the Ministry of Regulation, is looking for staff while other government agencies are being forced to make cutbacks. A number of ministries have outlined their plans to reduce staff numbers, including the Ministry for Primary Industries which is planning to cut 384 roles, and 188
The word for today is… emote (verb): : to give expression to emotion especially in acting Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Emote is an example of what linguists call a back-formation—that is, a word formed by trimming down an existing word. In this case, the parent word is emotion, which came
