stirp /STERP/ - a line descending from a common ancestor : stock, lineage
Today I'm just thankful that a word game gave me a new word, as WOTD hasn't given me one all week. (Not that I'll remember this one.) When you know this word, the next word in the dictionary makes sense:
stirpiculture /STERP-ih-cult'-yer/ - the breeding of special stocks or races
Finally, I've been hearing this one all week, on a radio program that has been on either on my way to or from lunch:
primer /PRI-mer; PRY-mer (chiefly Brit.)/ - 1. a small book for teaching children to read 2. a small introductory book on a subject 3. a short informative piece of writing
I was well familiar with this sense of this word, but I rebelled at the pronunciation they were using for it in the title of a book they were discussing. It turns out that, where I'm from, at least, I've been mispronouncing this for as long as I can remember, though I can't remember the last time I used the word aloud in this sense. No wonder non-native speakers find English to be such a frustrating language!
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