Pronounced: REAR-guard, adj
Notes: I had an idea of the meaning; also, the background was interesting
Yesterday’s word
The word impend can mean
- to be about to happen; to loom
- to threaten or menace
First usage
The word came into English in the mid-1600s
Background / Comments
This word comes from Latin perpendere (to weigh thoroughly), from per- (thoroughly) and pendere (to weigh). It should be no surprise that we get the word prepend from the same source. As I said yesterday, I know one of the definitions — the first one; I know the adjective “impending”. I was unaware of the second meaning.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 