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Word of the day for August 20th is contemn, spelt c-o-n-t-e-m-n. Contemn is a verb that means to view or treat with contempt to scorn. Here is a word use in a sentence, "Jacob believes that any rational scientist must contemn theories of magic and supernature. " Contemn is derived from the Latin word contemnary, a word formed by combining con, c-o-n, and temnary, meaning to despise. Surprisingly our verb may have come within a hair's breadth of being spelt c-o-n-t-e-m-p-n. The Middle French word contempna arrived in Middle English as contempn,  but the extra p disappeared, leaving us with contemn. You may be wondering about the connection between contemn and contempt. And not surprisingly, they are related. Contempt comes from the Latin word contemptus, which comes from contemnary. Contemn first turned up in prints in the 15th century in English, contempt dates from the 14th century.
    With your word of the day for thursday, Ausgust 2oth, I'm Peter Sokolosiki.