Word of the Day - 07/26/26
prepossessing
/,pripə'zɛsɪŋ/(adj.): creating a favorable impression
Her prepossessing smile immediately put everyone at ease.
Word Origin
The word 'prepossessing' originates from the verb 'prepossess', which entered Middle English from Old French 'preposseder', ultimately derived from the Latin 'praepossidere'. This Latin term means 'to possess beforehand' or 'to occupy in advance'. It is formed from the prefix 'prae-' meaning 'before' and 'possidere' meaning 'to possess' or 'to occupy'. The '-ing' suffix is used to form an adjective or present participle.
Words with similar origins include 'possess' and 'possession', both stemming from the Latin 'possidere'. Many English words beginning with 'pre-', such as 'precede', 'predict', and 'prepare', share the Latin prefix 'prae-'.
As a reminder, here are all of the words from this week:
arable xeriscape consign
prepossessing
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:
A parallax error could not hide the prepossessing developer's cupidity as he consigned once-arable land to a xeriscaping project, leaving the old farmer to sing a dirge.An optical illusion could not hide the attractive developer's greed as he assigned once-farmable land to a drought-tolerant landscaping project, leaving the old farmer to sing a funeral song.