Copse

I recently started subscribing to "Word of the Day" emails.. partly because there's nothing quite like getting spam that you actually asked for, but mostly due to the fact that probably one of the most knowledgeable people I have ever worked with left the office recently for a better job (and who can blame him for that).  The problem with our colleague departing, however (apart from the fact that he was great to work alongside) was that he took all his knowledge with him.. You see he had studied classics, he knew Latin.  Indeed he seemed to know something interesting about almost everything, it was rather like being on Q.I. whilst being at work.  Anyway, the I.Q. of the entire department dropped by about 50% when he left, so I hoped that "Word of the Day" emails might begin to fill the intellectual void that was created when he left. Because the, you see, "Word of the Day" mails (from Dictionary.com, in case you're interested) not only give the definition and pronunciation of a word, but also will furnish you with several quotes containing the word and will also attempt to explain the origins of the word, so it is all very educational and Quite Interesting..

 

Take today's example.

Copse

\KOPS\, noun:
A thicket or grove of small trees.

 

"A lit window shone from between the trees below them, then vanished again as the car dipped over a ditch and passed through a copse." -- Kate Bingham, Mummy's Legs

 

"Among the mountains, hills, streams, waterfalls, and little copses, the child rejoiced in 'savouring the delights of freedom' that stimulated his boyish dreams and reveries." -- Suheil Bushrui and Joe Jenkins, Kahill Gibran: Man and Poet

 

Origin:

Copse derives from Old French copeiz, "a thicket for cutting," from coper, couper, "to cut." It is related to coupon, at root "the part that is cut off."

 

So there you go..

My other goal, to use the "Word of the Day" every day is proving to be tricky, however.  Mind you at least today I can say "I updated my blog, telling everyone about the word copse.  That word again: copse"