

Mar 5, 2015 This week’s theme

Words using only one of the vowels



This week’s words

parastatal

defervescence

imprimis

poltroon

tumulus



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poltroon PRONUNCIATION: (pol-TROON)

MEANING: noun: An utter coward.

ETYMOLOGY: From French poltron (coward), from Italian poltrone (lazy person), from Latin pullus (young animal). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pau- (few, little), which is also the source of few, foal, filly, pony, poor, pauper, poco, and catchpole . Earliest documented use: 1529.

USAGE:

Richard Duckett; ‘Since Otar Left’ is Slow But Intriguing; Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Massachusetts); Dec 9, 2004.



See more usage examples of “Against this backdrop, Bertuccelli offers a derisive portrait of officialdom. Administrators and doctors come across as poltroons.”Richard Duckett; ‘Since Otar Left’ is Slow But Intriguing;(Worcester, Massachusetts); Dec 9, 2004.See more usage examples of poltroon in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Scratch a pessimist and you find often a defender of privilege. -William Beveridge, economist and reformer (5 Mar 1879-1963)





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