Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Weird Wurd for May 18, 2010


Pneumatophore:
(new-mat-oh-fawr)
These are not four different types of Pneumato. Actually, pneumatophore (and yes, I did copy and paste the word) is a fancy word for aerial roots, which are in themselves a fancy word. These roots are ones that appear above ground, unlike most roots (remember anything from biology?) Specifically, pneumatophores are trees that have aerial roots to breathe air. These are common in swamps, where the soil is very spungy and air cannot be gathered easily from the ground.
The origin of this word is obviously Latin. How is it obvious? Could you spell pneumatophore by hearing it being pronounced? Okay then. It's Latin. Anyway, pneumatophore comes from two Latin words:
-pneumato: Air, breathe, spirit
-phore: "Bearer of"
So to remember what this word is, think:
"New Matt was 0 and 4."
Have fun trying to fit that into conversation today!

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