Word of the Day - 05/20/26
cull
/kəl/(v.): look for and gather
She decided to cull her favorite quotes from various books for her journal.
(n.): the person or thing that is rejected or set aside as inferior in quality
After the rigorous audition, he felt like the cull, having been the first to be sent home.
(v.): remove something that has been rejected
The gardener had to cull the diseased plants to prevent the infection from spreading.
Word Origin
The word 'cull' originates from the Old French word 'cuillir', meaning 'to gather, pick'. This in turn came from the Latin 'colligere', which means 'to gather together, collect'. The Latin 'colligere' is formed from the prefix 'com-' (meaning 'together') and 'legere' (meaning 'to gather, pick').
Words with similar origins include 'collect' (directly from Latin 'colligere'), 'college' (from Latin 'collegium', a body of people gathered together), 'select' (from Latin 'seligere', 'se-' meaning 'apart' and 'legere' meaning 'to gather'), and 'elect' (from Latin 'eligere', 'ex-' meaning 'out' and 'legere' meaning 'to gather'). The root 'legere' also gives us words like 'legible' and 'lecture', which are related to reading or speaking, stemming from the idea of 'gathering' words or ideas.