

Jul 25, 2017 This week’s theme

There’s a word for it



This week’s words

unitasking

allision

middlescence

yeasayer

longlist



M/V Rio Haina’s allision with the breakwall

Miami Beach Marina, Jun 22, 2008 Photo: Wikimedia Commons There’s a word for it A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg



allision PRONUNCIATION: (uh-LIZH-uhn)

MEANING: noun: The act of a moving object striking against a stationary object.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin allidere (to strike against), from ad- (toward) + laedere (to harm). Earliest documented use: 1615 (collision is also from 1615).

NOTES: In maritime usage, the term allision is used for a vessel striking a fixed object, while collision is between two moving ships. Frequently, the word collision is used in both cases.

USAGE: “She watched the beam of the flashlight play dully over the surface, and then she heard something, a faint splash, the sweet allision of breaking water.”

T.C. Boyle; East Is East; Penguin; 1991.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Absolute faith corrupts as absolutely as absolute power. -Eric Hoffer, philosopher and author (25 Jul 1902-1983)





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