quotidian

[prettygoodword]

quotidian - adj., occurring in the everyday world, ordinary, commonplace; occurring every day.


The last meaning is often applied to symptoms of malaria, when they recur daily and aren't tertiary fevers (every third day). From Latin quotidianus, daily, from quotidie, each day, from quot, how many, as many as + dies, day.

Q week! Expect gimmicky weapons disguised as everyday objects. That, or words that begin with Q.

Comments

[flw.livejournal.com]

When some writers get a hold of this word, they use it at every opportunity. In Harper's Magazine, it is almost as bad as "attorneys general".

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean.

---L.

[flw.livejournal.com]

I'd like to do a study seeing how often "Attorneys General" occurs up in publicatons through history. I would bet there is a massive spike after the Tobacco Lawsuit situation a few years back. I remember hearing reporters om TV and radio... They were so proud of themselves for saying "attorneys general" that they had to say it over and over and over again. They were like kids on Christmas with that word!

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

No worse than courts martial.

English has so few post-positional adjectives, and those in nearly fossilized forms, that they startle when properly declined.

---L.