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Word of the day August 15
The Word of the Day for August 15 is:
career • \kuh-REER\ • (verb) to go at top speed especially in a headlong manner
A little more information about today’s word:
The verbs "career" and "careen" both mean "to move at high speed," but they are distinct words with separate histories. A popular medieval contest required horsemen to ride around closely placed barriers while inserting lances through small metal rings—an activity that necessitated short gallops at full speed. Sixteenth-century English speakers used the noun "career" (from Middle French "carričre") to refer to such gallops and the verb "career" to mean "to gallop for a short burst at full speed." By the mid-17th century, the verb had acquired its general "go fast" meaning. "Careen" shares this sense, but it can also mean "to sway from side to side" or "to put (a boat) on a beach to work on the hull"; it traces to a Latin word for "hull."
My sentence:
"He darted onward—straight, headlong—dashing through brier and brake, and leaping gate and fence as madly as his dog, who careered with loud and sounding bark before him."
-- Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist
Based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 10th Edition.
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