Skip to content

Table of Contents

The word for today is…

cohesive (noun):

: exhibiting or producing cohesion or coherence

Source : Merriam -Webster

Etymology :The Latin verb haerere has shown remarkable stick-to-itiveness in influencing the English lexicon, which is fitting for a word that means “to be closely attached; to stick.” Among its descendants are adhere (literally meaning “to stick”), adhere’s relative adhesive (a word for sticky substances), inhere (meaning “to belong by nature or habit”), and even hesitate (which implies remaining stuck in place before taking action). In Latin, haerere teamed up with the prefix co- to form cohaerere, which means “to stick together.” Cohaerere is the ancestor of cohesive, a word borrowed into English in the early 18th century to describe something that sticks together literally (such as dough or mud) or figuratively (such as a society or sports team). Cohesion is one of the noun forms of cohere; the others are cohesiveness and coherence, each of which has a slightly different meaning. Coherence is often used to describe a person’s speech or writing. An incoherent talk or blog post is one that doesn’t “hang together;” and if the police pick up someone who they describe as incoherent, it means he or she isn’t making sense. But to describe a group or team that always sticks together, you would use cohesive, not coherent. And the words you’d use in Chemistry class to describe the way molecules hang together—for example, the way water forms into beads and drops—are cohesion, cohesive, and cohesiveness.

If you enjoyed this BFD word of the day please consider sharing it with your friends and, especially, your children.

Latest

The Good Oil Daily Proverb

The Good Oil Daily Proverb

Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.” For God understands all hearts, and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve.

Members Public