Word of the Day
haplotype
noun
a combination of closely linked DNA sequences on one chromosome that are often inherited together.
More about haplotype
Haplotype is a compound of haplo-, meaning “single, simple,” and type, “kind, sort.” Both of these elements come from Ancient Greek. Haplotype was first recorded in English in the late 1960s, perhaps as a coinage by Italian geneticist Ruggero Ceppellini and his colleagues in 1967.
EXAMPLE OF HAPLOTYPE USED IN A SENTENCE
The Y-chromosome samples from subjects in southern Europe and the Middle East all had the same haplotype, pointing to a common ancestor in ancient Africa.
immensurable
adjective
incapable of being measured; limitless.
Why the Museum of Science chose immensurable
To find out, watch this video from science communicator Alex Dainis, PhD.
Learn more at the Museum of Science.
More about immensurable
Immensurable is easily confused with immeasurable, and the resemblance is no coincidence. Both come from Late Latin mēnsūrābilis, “that can be measured,” from earlier Latin mētīrī, “to measure.” Immensurable was first recorded in English around 1530, more than a century after immeasurable.
EXAMPLE OF IMMENSURABLE USED IN A SENTENCE
Without the use of sonar to detect distance, the furthest depths of the ocean would still seem immensurable to scientists today.
More about snollygoster
Snollygoster is a slang term of uncertain origin. It has been proposed that it is connected to snallygaster, a mythical monster from Maryland with a name derived from German schnelle Geister, “quick spirits.” One complication here is that snallygaster first appears in the 1940s, while snollygoster was first recorded in English a century earlier in the 1840s.
EXAMPLE OF SNOLLYGOSTER USED IN A SENTENCE
The snollygoster managed to convince much of the audience that his political rivals were responsible for his own errors in judgment.