Fauna (noun)
faw-nu
the animals of a given region or period considered as a whole.
Fauna is the namesake of the rural Roman goddess Fauna, the feminine counterpart of the forest god Faunus. These two Latin names may come from the verb favēre “to favor,” which would make them potential relatives of the recent Words of the Day Faustian and foehn. Fauna was first recorded in English circa 1770.
Example sentences
“We think the fauna in the area is what attracted the settlers.”
Tutelage (noun) toot-lij instruction; teaching; guidance. First recorded around 1595–1605 and comes from the Latin word tūtēl(a), “guardianship,” which derived from the Latin verb tuērī, “to watch.” (more…)
Smorgasbord (noun) smaw-guz-bord an extensive array or variety. First recorded in 1875–80 and comes from the Swedish word smörgåsbord. Smörgåsbord is formed from smörgås, “(slice of) bread and butter, sandwich,”…
Dendroglyph (noun) den-dro-glif an image, message, or symbol carved into a tree, especially by Indigenous people and often hundreds of years old, providing cultural and historical information not available from…
Nimble (adj) nim-bl Agile, quick in movement. / Alert, acute. Old English nǣmel quick to grasp, and numol quick at seizing, both from niman to take (more…)
Petiole (noun) pet-ee-ohl (Botany) the slender stalk by which a leaf is attached to the stem; leafstalk. 1745–55; New Latin petiolus leafstalk, special use of Latin petiolus, scribal variant of…
Preponderant (adj) pree-pon-duh-rant superior in weight, force, influence, numbers, etc.; prevailing. Preponderant was first recorded in 1650–60 and comes from the stem of the Latin word praeponderāns, which is the…
Nebulous (adj) neb-yu-lus Hazy, vague, indistinct, or confused. First recorded in 1375–1425 and comes via late Middle English from the Latin word nebulōsus, meaning “full of mist, foggy, cloudy.” (more…)
Impediment (noun) im-ped-im-ent An obstruction, hindrance or obstacle. / any physical impairment or condition that impedes normal, fluent, or easy speech; a speech disorder. First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English,…