pell-mell

****************************************************************
Attention word gurus:  try WORD SWEEP!, the first board game to feature Merriam-Webster definitions! Available at Borders Bookstores. http://www.wordsweep.com
****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for December 29 is:

pell-mell   \pell-MELL\   adverb 
     1 : in mingled confusion or disorder 
    *2 : in confused haste 

Example sentence:
     Autograph seekers rushed pell-mell into the hotel lobby in an effort to meet the famous actress.

Did you know? 
     The word "pell-mell" was formed through a process called "reduplication." The process -- which involves the repetition of a word or part of a word, often including a slight change in its pronunciation -- also generated such terms as "bowwow," "helter-skelter," "flip-flop," and "walkie-talkie." Yet another product of reduplication is "shilly-shally," which started out as a single-word compression of the question "Shall I?" "Pell-mell" traces to the Middle French "pelemele," which has the same meaning as the English "pell-mell."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. 





You Are Subscribed As: [email protected]
To unsubscribe, change your e-mail address or to subscribe to the html
version of Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day, featuring audio
pronunciations, please visit:

http://www.startsampling.com/sm/wod/changeofaddress.iphtml

(c) 2006 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

Merriam-Webster, Inc.
47 Federal Street
P.O. Box 281
Springfield, MA 01102