Word of the day

WORD: abeyance uh-BAY-uhn(t)s (noun)

: Suspension; temporary cessation

SYNONYMS: * inaction
* dormancy
* remission

WORD WISE: Abeyance derives from Medieval French
abeance,
"expectation," from abeer, from a-, "to" (from
Latin ad-) +
baer, beer, "to gape (at)," from Late Latin
batare, "to
gape."

QUOTE: Her plans fell into abeyance when she
parted from
Franz Josef and traveled for five years.
--Rebecca West, "Black Lamb and Grey Falcon," The
Atlantic,
January 1941

OBSCURE AND UNUSUAL WORDS
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1) ruffian ruffee en (noun)
: somebody who behaves in a rough, bullying,
or violent
way, often a member of a gang of criminal
thugs (dated)

Fifteenth century. Via French from,
ultimately, Italian
ruffiano, of Germanic origin.

2) chantey chantee, shantee (noun)
: a song chanted by sailors as they work

Mid-19th century. Origin uncertain, perhaps
an angliciz-
ation of French chantez "sing!"

BONUS WORD OF THE DAY: panoptic pan optik
(adjective)

: Taking in or showing everything in a single
view

Early 19th century. Formed from Greek panoptos,
literally
"seen by all," and panoptes, literally
"all-seeing," both
formed in turn from optos "visible."