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The Word of the Day for December 28 is:

undertaker   \un-der-TAY-ker or (particularly in sense 2)
UN-der-tay-ker \   (noun)
     1 : one that undertakes : one that takes the risk and
management of business : entrepreneur
     *2 : one whose business is to prepare the dead for burial

Example sentence:
     "[He] recalled a family friend, an undertaker, who allowed
him to roam free through his funeral home." (Mike Harden, _The
Columbus Dispatch_, November 19, 2001).

Did you know?
     You may wonder how the word "undertaker" made the transition
from "one who undertakes" to "one who makes a living in the
funeral business." The latter meaning descends from the use of
the word to mean "one who takes on business responsibilities."
In the 18th century, a funeral-undertaker was someone who
undertook, or managed, a funeral business. There were many
undertakers in those days, undertaking all sorts of businesses,
but as time went on "undertaker" became specifically identified
with the profession of burial. Today, "funeral director" is more
commonly used, but "undertaker" still appears.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

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