***************************************************************
Do you have the skills you need to get a good job?
If you want to secure your future, you need training.
http://links.quinstreet.com/adclick?area=fensuihagunduo
***************************************************************

The Word of the Day for October 20 is:

innocuous   \ih-NAH-kyuh-wus\   (adjective)
     1 : producing no injury : harmless
    *2 : not likely to give offense or to arouse strong feelings
or hostility : inoffensive, insipid

Example sentence:
     Sally was surprised when her seemingly innocuous remark
enraged her classmates.

Did you know?
     "Innocuous" has harmful roots -- it comes to us from the
Latin adjective "innocuus," which was formed by combining the
negative prefix "in-" with a form of the verb "nocere," meaning
"to harm, hurt." In addition, "nocere" gave us the truly
"harmful" words "noxious," "nocent," and even "nocuous."
"Innocent" is from "nocere" as well, although like "innocuous,"
it has the "in-" prefix negating the hurtful possibilities.
"Innocuous" first appeared in print in 1598 with the clearly
Latin-derived meaning "harmless or causing no injury" (as in
"an innocuous gas"). The second sense is a metaphorical
extension of the idea of injury, used to indicate that someone
or something does not cause hurt feelings, or even strong
feelings ("an innocuous book," "innocuous issues").

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

----------------
Brought to you by Merriam-Webster, Inc.
http://www.Merriam-Webster.com
----------------

***************************************************************
Discover the meanings you've been missing!
Click here for your guide to over 900 allusions.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/book/writref/allusion.htm
***************************************************************

Visit http://www.Merriam-Webster.com/service/subinst.htm to
subscribe to or unsubscribe from the Word of the Day mailing list.

To subscribe to the list by e-mail, send a blank e-mail to
mw-wod-subscribe-request@listserv.webster.m-w.com.
To unsubscribe via e-mail, send a blank e-mail to
mw-wod-signoff-request@listserv.webster.m-w.com.

If you have questions about your subscription, write to
mw-wod-request@listserv.webster.m-w.com. Send other questions
or comments about the Word of the Day to
word@Merriam-Webster.com.

(c) 2001 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated