Pronounced: VAR-dee, noun
Notes: A useful word, but not one I know
Yesterday’s word
The word extenuate means
- to lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of by making partial excuses; mitigate
- to lessen the strength or effect of
First usage
Our word came into English in the early to mid-1500s
Background / Comments
As I noted, I have heard the term “extenuating circumstances” — they are, properly, circumstances that mitigate an event. Our word came from the Latin word extenuatus, which is the past participle of the verb extenuare, which is made up of ex- (out of; from; utterly; thoroughly) and tenuare (to make thin). Early definitions (now obsolete) of our word were “to make light of” and “to make thin or emaciated”.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 