wale

Pronounced: this word is pronounced like “whale”, noun/verb

Notes: A nice, short word that I didn’t know

---

Yesterday’s word

The word Byzantine, when capitalized means “of, relating to, or typical of ancient Byzantium or the Eastern Roman Empire”. Another meaning, usually not capitalized, means “intricately involved and often devious”.

Background / Comments

It is named after the city that lies on the Bosporus Strait in Turkey. It is today called Istanbul, but was earlier called Constantinople – it received this name when it became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire (also called the Byzantine Empire). Before then, the city itself was called Byzantium. The city was filled with mystics, wars, and political infighting, and thus Byzantine, from Late Latin Byzantinus (native of Byzantium) came to mean anything characteristic of the city or empire, from architecture to intrigue. I kind of knew this word, but was a bit fuzzy on the definition, so I included it.

First usage

The non-capitalized meaning dates back to the 1930s