euchre

Pronounced: YOU-kuhr, verb/noun

Notes: I suspect many know the meaning of the noun, but I did not know the meaning of the verb

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Yesterday’s word

The word oracular means “of, relating to, or suggesting an oracle”

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

I confused our word with “ocular”, and thought it was related to the eyes. After reading the definition, “oracle” is pretty clear. Our word came to use from the Latin word oraculum, which came from the Latin verb orare (to speak). The concept of an oracle goes back to the ancient Greeks –the famous one being the oracle at Delphi. An oracle was supposed to provide an answer from the gods. The word “oracle” can refer to the answer itself, or to the shrine at which the question(s) was(were) asked, or to the person through whom the gods communicated. In modern times, an oracle is an authoritative pronouncement, or the person who makes it.