Word of the Day + 1
Feb. 6th, 2020 07:22 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6
Hermitage
[HER-mih-tij]Part of speech: noun
Origin: greek, 14th century
- A secluded residence
- The home of a hermit
Examples of Hermitage in a sentence
- We bought our lake home with five acres of land because we needed a hermitage to escape to.
- While walking through the woods, the kids discovered a hermitage that seemed abandoned.
About Hermitage
Hermit, one who lives in seclusion, plus the suffix “-age,” meaning place of living or business, gives you hermitage. While you can use it quite literally to describe the home of a hermit, it is also used to describe a retreat or hideaway. You can also apply it to describe a religious dwelling, such as a monastery.
Did you Know?
Yes, hermitage means an isolated or secluded residence, but it’s such a great sounding word that it’s been adopted as the name of many towns and villages. You can visit Hermitage in England (in Dorset and Berkshire!), Scotland, Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and even the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Yesterday's Word...
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5
Milieu
[meel-YOO]Part of speech: noun
Origin: french, late 18th century
- A surrounding culture and environment
- The atmosphere or ambiance
Examples of Milieu in a sentence
- The mark of a good sci-fi novel is an elaborate milieu for the characters to inhabit.
- The milieu of the neighborhood changed after the mega grocery store opened up.
About Milieu
With its French inspiration, milieu appears to be quite a sophisticated word. Its original usage was to describe one’s place in society — were you a member of the upper-crust milieu or were you working class? The definition has expanded to describe the general neighborhood and environmental surroundings, not just social standing.
Did you Know?
Milieu is a loan word, or a word taken from another language with no modification. In French, milieu means middle, or, just like in English, the setting or environment. There’s also a French phrase, “au milieu de,” which means “in the middle of.”