>The Word of the Day for October 29 is: > >alameda \al-uh-MEE-duh\ (noun) > : a public promenade bordered with trees > >Example sentence: > Artist Diego Rivera visited Mexico City's picturesque alameda as > a young boy, and he later wove the park's tree-lined pathways > into one of his murals. > >Did you know? > Residents of the American Southwest may remember the "alamo" in > "alameda." In this case, however, the "alamo" is not the > 18th-century Franciscan mission that was the site of a key battle > in the fight for Texas independence, but the Spanish name for the > poplar tree (the mission was named for the trees that grew near > it). Spanish speakers used "alamo" as the basis for their word > "alameda," which can name either a grove of poplars or a > tree-lined avenue. English speakers found "alameda" so > appropriate for a shady public promenade that they borrowed it as > a generic term in the late 1700s. And yes, the Spanish "alameda" > and nearby poplar trees also contributed to the naming of the > city of Alameda, California. > >---------------- >Brought to you by Merriam-Webster Inc. http://www.m-w.com >---------------- > >Visit http://www.m-w.com/service/subinst.htm to subscribe to or >unsubscribe from the Word of the Day mailing list. > >To subscribe to the list by email, send a blank email to >mw-wod-subscribe-request@listserv.webster.m-w.com. >To unsubscribe via email, send a blank email to >mw-wod-signoff-request@listserv.webster.m-w.com. > >If you have questions about your subscription, write to >mw-wod-request@listserv.webster.m-w.com. Send other questions >or comments about the Word of the Day to word@m-w.com. > >(c) 1999 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated >=========| BARNHART DICTIONARY COMPANION |========== >Track the latest changes in the English language by subscribing to >The Barnhart Dictionary Companion: A Quarterly of New Words >Click here!! http://www.m-w.com/info/barn/barn.htm >=================================================== > >