stridulate

Pronounced: STRIJ-uh-late, verb

Notes: I was close(-ish) to the correct meaning

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Yesterday’s word

The word natant means “swimming or floating in the water”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid- to late 1400s

Background / Comment

When I saw our word, I thought of “natale”, which means “birth” – thus ‘neo-natal’ and ‘nativity’, and so forth. Thus, I was surprised to see the definition our word. It turns out that “swimming” (which most of us use) came from German, and our word came from the Latin word natare (to swim). A swimming pool can also be a “natatorium”; likewise, the act of swimming is “natation”. Scientists seem to prefer Latin backgrounds, so our word may more frequently show up in scientific writing – or whenever someone is leaning toward Latin.