After his second and final term, President Barack Obama gave his farewell speech Tuesday, January 10 in Chicago, the city that launched his rise to national prominence.
51勛圖 choices and speech patterns of our world leaders are a constant source of discussion (and comedy skits), as every administration has a style and at least one tic. Long known as an , Obama peppered his speech with words that interested listeners enough to check them out on Dictionary.com. We’ve highlighted a few of those top lookups, along with the quotes from Obama’s speech that likely caused the spikes.
Creed
And as it turned out, America wasn’t weakened by the presence of these newcomers; these newcomers embraced this nation’s creed, and this nation was strengthened.泭This is a very old word, going back to before the year 1000. It’s a mixture of泭Middle English,泭Old English, 硃紳餃泭Latin, but is well known and used relatively often in modern English.泭Calling something a creed can refer to any泭system (or泭codification) of泭belief泭or opinion.
Autocrat
That order is now being challengedfirst by violent fanatics who claim to speak for Islam; more recently by autocrats in foreign capitals who see free markets and open democracies and civil society itself as a threat to their power.Greek in origin, circa 1795, autocrat means “an absolute ruler, especially a monarch who holds and exercises the powers of government as by inherent right, not subject to restrictions.” Our difficulty index indicates that only some English speakers likely know this wordare you one of them?
Solidarity
But they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidaritythe idea that for all our outward differences, we’re all in this together; that we rise or fall as one.泭插梭莽棗:泭There have been moments throughout our history that threaten that solidarity.This word has a French origin dating back to 1840. Solidarity means a “union or fellowship arising from common responsibilities and interests, as between members of a group or between classes, peoples, etc.” For example, “to promote solidarity among union members.”
Sanctuary
They’ll be busy dealing with its effects: more environmental disasters, more economic disruptions, waves of climate refugees seeking sanctuary.Sanctuary泭has a variety of definitions, such as a sacred place, or in the context of Tuesday’s speech, “any place of refuge; asylum.” The difficulty index isn’t too high heremany English speakers are likely know this word.
Sectarianism
For the fight against extremism and intolerance and sectarianism and chauvinism are of a piece with the fight against authoritarianism and nationalist aggression.Sectarianism means “sectarian spirit or tendencies; excessive devotion to a particular sect, especially in religion.” This is a tough oneour difficulty index ranks this word as one that few English speakers are likely to know. Sectarianism is a word you might hear on the nightly news, in many cases used in reference to various Middle Eastern conflicts.
Rancor
America, we weaken those ties when we allow our political dialogue to become so corrosive that people of good character aren’t even willing to enter into public service; so coarse with rancor that Americans with whom we disagree are seen not just as misguided but as malevolent.Rancor is from Middle French, Middle English, and Late Latin, catching on between 11751225. It means “bitter, rankling resentment or ill will; hatred; malice.” It also makes a really great name for a Star Wars monster.
Quarrel
Understand, democracy does not require uniformity. Our founders argued. They quarreled. Eventually they compromised.Quarrel泭can be a noun, “an angry dispute or altercation; a disagreement marked by a temporary or permanent break in friendly relations,” or a verb used without an object: “to disagree angrily; squabble; wrangle.” All English speakers likely know this word, though “fight” would probably be the first choice for most people, don’t you think?