[Loch-Ruadh] word of the day

Jane Sitton jane.sitton at radioshack.com
Mon Aug 5 13:05:18 PDT 2002


Your daily vocabulary lesson:  intestine * \in-TESS-tin\ * (adjective) :
internal; specifically : of or relating to the internal affairs of a state
or country
Example sentence:  Regrettably, the region has been mired in intestine
conflict for many years.
Did you know?  We bet you thought "intestine" was a noun referring to a part
of the digestive system!  Well, it is, of course, but naming that internal
body part isn't the word's only function.  It can also be an adjective
meaning "internal."  Both parts of speech have been a part of English since
the 15th century, and both trace to the Latin adjective "intestinus,"
meaning "internal."  (Our adjective comes directly from "intestinus," while
our noun comes from "intestinus" by way of the Latin noun "intestinum.")  Of
course, these days, the adjective "intestine" tends to turn up much less
frequently than does its anatomical cousin.  The adjective does see
occasional use, however, especially as a synonym for "civil" and "domestic"
(in contrast to "foreign") to describe wars and disturbances.



More information about the Loch-Ruadh mailing list