Pronounced: al-TER-uh-tee, noun
Notes: A nice, usable word to add to one’s vocabulary
Yesterday’s word
The word sashay means
- to strut or move about in an ostentatious or conspicuous manner
- walk; glide; go
- to make a chassé
First usage
Our word came into English in the mid-1800s
Background / Comments
Our word is a corruption of the French word chassé (a gliding step in which one foot is kept in front of the other), which is the past participle of chasser (to chase). People were uncertain of the pronunciation of the French word, and it was changed to the current spelling. As it was used, the definition mutated from the French dance definition to the more generalized uses shown in the definition above.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 