close

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 07, 2009 is:

sanction • \SANK-shun\  • verb
1 : to make valid or binding usually by a formal procedure (as ratification) *2 : to give effective or authoritative approval or consent to

Example sentence:
The parks committee was willing to sanction the consumption but not the sale of alcohol on park premises.

Did you know?
"Sanction" can also be a noun meaning "authoritative approval" or "a coercive measure." The noun entered English first, in the 15th century, and originally referred to a formal decree, especially an ecclesiastical decree. (The Latin "sancire," meaning "to make holy," is an ancestor.) By the end of the 17th century, the meaning of the noun "sanction" had extended to refer to both a means of enforcing a law (a sense that in the 20th century we began using especially for economic penalties against nations violating international law) and the process of formally approving or ratifying a law. When the verb "sanction" appeared in the 18th century, it had to do with ratifying laws as well. Soon it had also acquired an additional, looser sense: "to approve."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Word of the Day

User Login

Visitors by Country

This month 's Top 10
 26 % United Kingdom
 22 % United States
 7 % Germany
 7 % China
 6 % India
 3 % Russian Federation
 2 % Israel
 2 % Japan
 2 % Poland
 2 % Ukraine
38351 visits from 160 countries
English Project Gets "Crystal Clearance" for Lift-off PDF Print

WEDNESDAY MARCH 12 

One week on from the launch of the campaign to create the English Project the ripple effect has turned into a rolling wave of support. There have been widespread offers of backing from individuals, businesses and institutions and the Trustees are now moving forward with their plans for fundraising for the project’s development programme.

Extensive media coverage - print, radio and TV – of Professor David Crystal’s scene-setting lecture about the future of the language (which suggested that English is on the point of fragmenting into a myriad of local varieties) has generated a massive level of interest and opened up a lively debate. For example a report in the UK’s Daily Telegraph resulted in around one hundred detailed responses from all over the world - clearly the issue had touched a cultural nerve. 

Professor Crystal’s speech was the backdrop to the launch event at the University of Winchester on March 5th. A keynote introduction from Lord Hunt, the chairman of the English Speaking Union and an overview of the project’s aims from English Project Trustee Professor Christopher Mulvey framed Professor Crystal’s virtuoso performance before a packed audience. A buzz of excitement was created by the launch film Imagine which continued throughout the evening and on to the following parties and receptions.

Also speaking during the evening were Joy Carter, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Winchester, Terry Jones (of Monty Python fame) who endorsed the objectives and, in an impromptu contribution from the floor, Mark Byford, Deputy Director General of the BBC who expressed his ‘rooted support’ for the project.    

There is a long way to go, lots of money to be raised and some exciting creative challenges to be addressed but the English Project could not have got off to a better start.

< Prev