A.W.A.D. - A Potpourri of Words!

This week we feature a potpourri of words. We opened a dictionary, shook it gently, and these words fell out. They came in all shapes, sizes, and senses. They're short and long. They're flighty and grouchy. Call 'em what you will, a medley of words, a farrago, or a gallimaufry. They're disparate, they're diverse. They are varied and variegated, unclassified and unsorted. And they're all ready to serve.


bedswerver
(bed-SWUR-vuhr) noun
An unfaithful spouse.


[From Old English bedd (bed) + sweorfan (to rub, to file away).]


eyeservice
(EYE-sur-vis) noun
Work done only when the employer is present.


[Referring to the service performed only when the employer is watching.]


malacia
(mu-LA-shuh, -shee-uh) noun
1. An abnormal craving for spiced food.
2. Softening of the organ or tissue.


[From Greek malakia (softness), ultimately from the Indo-European root mel- (soft) which also gave us malacology (study of mollusks), malt, melt, and mulch.]

transpontine
(trans-PON-tyn) adjective
1. Across the bridge.
2. Situated on the south side of the Thames River in London.
3. Melodramatic (alluding to the type of dramas once performed in theaters south of the Thames).

[From Latin trans- (across) + pont (bridge). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pent- (to tread) that also gave us words such as English find, Dutch pad (path), French pont (bridge), and Russian sputnik (traveling companion).]

rasorial
(ruh-SOR-ee-uhl) adjective
Given to scratching the ground to look for food.

[From Latin radere (to scrape), ultimately from the Indo-European rootred- (to scrape or scratch) that's also the source of raze, razor, erase, corrode, rascal, rat, and rodent.]

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