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Word of the Day - 07/05/26

ascribe

/ə'skraɪb/
(v.): attribute or credit to
        Many people ascribe his success to hard work and dedication.


Word Origin

        The word 'ascribe' originates from the Latin verb 'ascribere', which is formed from 'ad-' (meaning 'to' or 'toward') and 'scribere' (meaning 'to write'). Therefore, 'ascribere' literally meant 'to write to' or 'to enroll', eventually evolving to mean 'to attribute' or 'to credit'.

        Many English words share a similar origin from the Latin 'scribere'. Examples include 'describe' (de- + scribere), 'subscribe' (sub- + scribere), 'prescribe' (pre- + scribere), 'transcribe' (trans- + scribere), 'inscribe' (in- + scribere), and 'scribe' itself. Other related words are 'script', 'scripture', and 'postscript', all stemming from the same Latin root pertaining to writing.


Sunday Special

As a reminder, here are all of the words from this week:

iridescent      expostulate      mountebank
anthology      fetid      indolent
ascribe

See if you can remember all of this week's words! Here is a sentence that includes all seven, followed by a version that simplifies them to help you remember:

The indolent mountebank tried to expostulate with the curator, urging her to ascribe the iridescent glow of the weathered anthology to an ancient enchantment rather than the fetid chemicals seeping from its decaying binding.

The lazy trickster tried to argue with the curator, urging her to attribute the shimmering glow of the old collection of writings to an ancient enchantment rather than the foul-smelling chemicals seeping from its decaying binding.


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