neoteric

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The Word of the Day for January 15 is:=20

neoteric   \nee-uh-TAIR-ik\   adjective
          : recent in origin : modern=20

Example sentence:
          The gallery eschews traditional works of art in favor of more =
neoteric pieces, such as electric light installations and computer graph=
ic displays.

Did you know?
          An odd thing about "neoteric" is that this word for things tha=
t are modern and new is itself rather old. It's been part of English sin=
ce at least 1596, and its roots go back even further -- to ancient Greek=
. We adapted the word from Late Latin "neotericus," which also means "re=
cent." "Neotericus" in turn comes from Late Greek "neoterikos" and ultim=
ately from Greek "neos," meaning "new" or "young." As old as its roots a=
re, however, "neoteric" itself entered English later than its synonyms "=
modern" (which appeared earlier in the 16th century) and "newfangled" (w=
hich has been with us since the 15th century).





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