{UAH} WORD OF THE DAY January 1, 2019- handsel

WORD OF THE DAY January 1, 2019

handsel    noun | HAN-sul     Definition   1 : a gift made as a token of good wishes or luck especially at the beginning of a new year   2 : something received first (as in a day of trading) and taken to be a token of good luck   3 a : a first installment   b : a token or sample of what is to come : earnest, foretaste   Scroll down for more about handsel      TRENDING NOW: nebulous synergy slumgullion endgame SEE ALL      PEOPLE ARE READING   The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 12/28/18       From 'Syllabub' to 'Sundae': A Dessert Course in 7 Words     'Cherpumple': 3 Words Packed Into 1       The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 12/21/18         WORD GAMES AND QUIZZES: WEEKLY CHALLENGE   December 2018 Words of the Day Quiz   The final quiz of 2018!     PLAY NOW     Nailed this quiz? We have plenty more to try!  TAKE ME THERE         Did You Know?   According to an old custom in the British Isles, the first Monday of the New Year is Handsel Monday, a day to give a small gift or good luck charm to children or to those who have served you well. As long ago as the 13th century, English speakers were using the ancestor of handsel in the context of omens and luck, eventually leading to the meaning of a good luck charm given to one at the start of some new situation or condition. By the 18th century, traders were using handsel for the first cash they earned in the morning—to them, an omen of good things to follow. Nowadays, it can also be used for something that gives a taste of things to come.     Examples of HANDSEL   Celebrating the New Year in the Scottish tradition, Jessica gave out a handselof one silver dollar coin to each of her nieces and nephews.   "The lads, dressed like their fathers, seemed uncomfortable in their new clothes (many that day had received the handsel of their first pair of boots); and beside them, speaking not a word, wearing the white gown of their first communion lengthened for the occasion, were some … girls of fourteen or sixteen…." — Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary, 1856   Test Your Vocabulary   Fill in the blanks to complete a word for a small gift given to a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase: l _ g _ i _ _ pe.   VIEW THE ANSWER           WORD OF THE YEAR 2018     Justice + 10 more   Read why justice is our Word of the Year, plus lodestar, epiphany, pansexual, and 7 more top words!   SEE THE FULL LIST            MORE WORD FUN:     WORD GAMES          TRENDING NOW          WORDS AT PLAY      FOLLOW US:               SHARE:       View this email in a web browser   You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive the Merriam-Webster Word of the Day.   Unsubscribe from Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day   Manage your subscription settings   Merriam-Webster, Inc. 47 Federal Street P.O. Box 281 Springfield, MA 01102 www.merriam-webster.com

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