AskOxford: Word of the Day

Word of the Day from AskOxford: www.askoxford.com Tao-te-Ching • noun the central Taoist text, ascribed to Lao-tzu, the traditional founder of Taoism. Apparently written as a guide for rulers, it defined the Tao, or way, and established the philosophical basis of Taoism. — origin Chinese, literally ‘the Book of the Way and its Power’. Pronunciation available online: www.askoxford.com Source: Oxford Dictionary of English www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780198610571 Useful links from around OUP Find out about OUP's Online Products: www.oup.com/online Sign up for Words of the Day in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, or Chinese at www.oxfordlanguagedictionaries.com - now with audio! Special offer disgo and busbi USB keys - preloaded with a 30 day trial of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary: www.clever-stuff.ie We hope you have enjoyed your word of the day. However, if you wish to be removed from the mailing list please visit: www.askoxford.com/contactus/email Copyright © Oxford University Press 2008

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AskOxford: Word of the Day

Word of the Day from AskOxford: www.askoxford.com streusel • noun a crumbly topping or filling made from fat, flour, sugar, and often cinnamon. • a cake or pastry with a streusel topping. — origin from German Streusel, from streuen ‘sprinkle’. Pronunciation available online: www.askoxford.com Source: Oxford Dictionary of English www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780198610571 Useful links from around OUP Find out about OUP's Online Products: www.oup.com/online Sign up for Words of the Day in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, or Chinese at www.oxfordlanguagedictionaries.com - now with audio! Special offer disgo and busbi USB keys - preloaded with a 30 day trial of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary: www.clever-stuff.ie We hope you have enjoyed your word of the day. However, if you wish to be removed from the mailing list please visit: www.askoxford.com/contactus/email Copyright © Oxford University Press 2008

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AskOxford: Word of the Day

Word of the Day from AskOxford: www.askoxford.com mylodon • noun an extinct giant ground sloth found in Pleistocene ice age deposits in South America. It died out only 11,000 years ago. Genus Glossotherium (formerly Mylodon), family Mylodontidae. — origin mid 19th cent.: modern Latin, from Greek mule ‘mill, molar’ + odous, odont- ‘tooth’. Pronunciation available online: www.askoxford.com Source: Oxford Dictionary of English www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780198610571 Useful links from around OUP Find out about OUP's Online Products: www.oup.com/online Sign up for Words of the Day in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, or Chinese at www.oxfordlanguagedictionaries.com - now with audio! Special offer disgo and busbi USB keys - preloaded with a 30 day trial of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary: www.clever-stuff.ie We hope you have enjoyed your word of the day. However, if you wish to be removed from the mailing list please visit: www.askoxford.com/contactus/email Copyright © Oxford University Press 2008

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AskOxford: Word of the Day

Word of the Day from AskOxford: www.askoxford.com Halafian • adjective Archaeology relating to or denoting a prehistoric culture extending from Syria to the Mediterranean coast and eastern Turkey (late 6th and early 5th millennium bc). This culture is identified primarily by the use of polychrome pottery (Halaf ware). • [as noun] (the Halafian) the Halafian culture or period. — origin 1930s: from the place name Tell Halaf (in NE Syria, where the pottery was first discovered) + -ian. Pronunciation available online: www.askoxford.com Source: Oxford Dictionary of English www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780198610571 Useful links from around OUP Find out about OUP's Online Products: www.oup.com/online Sign up for Words of the Day in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, or Chinese at www.oxfordlanguagedictionaries.com - now with audio! Special offer disgo and busbi USB keys - preloaded with a 30 day trial of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary: www.clever-stuff.ie We hope you have enjoyed your word of the day. However, if you wish to be removed from the mailing list please visit: www.askoxford.com/contactus/email Copyright © Oxford University Press 2008

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AskOxford: Word of the Day

Word of the Day from AskOxford: www.askoxford.com phosgene • noun [mass noun] Chemistry a colourless poisonous gas made by the reaction of chlorine and carbon dioxide. It was used as a poison gas, notably in the First World War. Alternative name: carbonyl chloride; chem. formula: COCl2. — origin early 19th cent.: from Greek phos ‘light’ + -gen, with reference to its original production by the action of sunlight on chlorine and carbon monoxide. Pronunciation available online: www.askoxford.com Source: Oxford Dictionary of English www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780198610571 Useful links from around OUP Find out about OUP's Online Products: www.oup.com/online Sign up for Words of the Day in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, or Chinese at www.oxfordlanguagedictionaries.com - now with audio! Special offer disgo and busbi USB keys - preloaded with a 30 day trial of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary: www.clever-stuff.ie We hope you have enjoyed your word of the day. However, if you wish to be removed from the mailing list please visit: www.askoxford.com/contactus/email Copyright © Oxford University Press 2008

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AskOxford: Word of the Day

Word of the Day from AskOxford: www.askoxford.com xebec • noun historical a small three-masted Mediterranean sailing ship with lateen and square sails. — origin mid 18th cent.: alteration (influenced by Spanish xabeque) of French chebec, via Italian from Arabic sabbak. Pronunciation available online: www.askoxford.com Source: Oxford Dictionary of English www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780198610571 Useful links from around OUP Find out about OUP's Online Products: www.oup.com/online Sign up for Words of the Day in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, or Chinese at www.oxfordlanguagedictionaries.com - now with audio! Special offer disgo and busbi USB keys - preloaded with a 30 day trial of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary: www.clever-stuff.ie We hope you have enjoyed your word of the day. However, if you wish to be removed from the mailing list please visit: www.askoxford.com/contactus/email Copyright © Oxford University Press 2008

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AskOxford: Word of the Day

Word of the Day from AskOxford: www.askoxford.com Oka • noun [mass noun] a variety of cured Canadian cheese, made by Trappist monks. — origin named after a town in southern Quebec, where the cheese is made. Pronunciation available online: www.askoxford.com Source: Oxford Dictionary of English www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780198610571 Useful links from around OUP Do you have a question about the English that you would like answered by language expert Susie Dent in her new book? Send in your question by March 15th and some lucky contributors will see their question answered in print. Click here to submit your question Find out about OUP's Online Products: www.oup.com/online Sign up for Words of the Day in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, or Chinese at www.oxfordlanguagedictionaries.com - now with audio! Special offer disgo and busbi USB keys - preloaded with a 30 day trial of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary: www.clever-stuff.ie We hope you have enjoyed your word of the day. However, if you wish to be removed from the mailing list please visit: www.askoxford.com/contactus/email Copyright © Oxford University Press 2008

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