Word of the Day for Thursday, September 4, 2008

immolate \IM-uh-layt\, transitive verb:

1. To sacrifice; to offer in sacrifice; to kill as a sacrificial victim.
2. To kill or destroy, often by fire.

Immolate comes from the past participle of Latin immolare, "to sacrifice; originally, to sprinkle a victim with sacrificial meal," from in- + mola, "grits or grains of spelt coarsely ground and mixed with salt."

interneuter

• Loosing your connection to the internet

Johnny was interneutered suddenly by his cable company which left him feeling much like his cat who was neutered a few days ago.

Trivia

What is the largest book in the Library of Congress?

• Birds of America by John James Audubon. The book, which contains life-size illustrations of birds, is 39.37 inches high.

Today in History

• Roman Empire: came to an end — or at least the Western part did — when emperor Romulus Augustus was deposed (457)
• Geronimo: Apache chief became the last Native American warrior to surrender to US troops (1886)
• Edsel: the most famous American automotive lemon was introduced by Ford (1957)
• Mark Spitz: swimmer won his seventh gold medal (1972); this record for the most golds at a single Olympics stood until it was broken by Michael Phelps in August 2008

Today's Birthdays

• Richard Wright (1908-1960): author, Native Son; writer François René Chateaubriand (1768-1848) was also born on this date
• Paul Harvey (90): radio commentator
• Tom Watson (59): champion golfer; colleague Ray Floyd (66) shares this birth date
• Ione Skye (37): actress, Say Anything; Mitzi Gaynor (77), Jennifer Salt (64), Judith Ivey (57), Khandi Alexander (51), Damon Wayans (48), Noah Taylor (39) and Wes Bentley (30)
• Beyoncé Knowles (27): singer