afflatus

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The Word of the Day for December 27 is:=20

afflatus   \uh-FLAY-tus\   noun
          : a divine imparting of knowledge or power : inspiration

Example sentence:
          Gus insists that his musical compositions are the result of ha=
rd work, not afflatus.=20

Did you know?
          Inspiration might be described as a breath of fresh air, and s=
o it is appropriate that "inspire" derives in part from a word meaning "=
to breathe" (the Latin "spirare"). "Afflatus" is a lesser-known word for=
 inspiration that followed a parallel route. "Afflatus," which in Latin =
means "the act of blowing or breathing on," was formed from the prefix "=
ad-" ("to, toward") and the Latin verb "flare" ("to blow"). That same La=
tin verb gave us such words as "inflate" and (via French) "souffle." The=
 orator Cicero used "afflatus" in his Latin writings to compare the appe=
arance of a new idea to a breath of fresh air. Nowadays, one often finds=
 the word preceded by the adjective "divine," but poets and artists can =
find inspiration in the material world as well.





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