Today’s Word of the Day is “perfervid.” According to Merriam Webster’s it means “marked by overwrought or exaggerated emotion.” But if you read the derivation below, it comes through as “thoroughly boiling hot.” Pretty cool, eh?
Did You Know?
The adjectives “fervent,” “fervid,” and “perfervid” all derive from the Latin verb fervēre, meaning “to boil.” This suggests a bubbling up of intense feeling. “Fervent” was the first to enter the English language in the 14th century. It stresses sincerity and steadiness of emotional warmth and zeal. As in “Her colleagues expressed fervent good wishes.” The next to emerge was “fervid” in the late 16th century. It too suggests warmth but adds an element of spontaneity and feverishness. A lover might write a fervid billet-doux to his beloved, for example. With its first known appearance in print dating back only to 1833, “perfervid” is a relative newcomer to English. But it implies the most extreme or exaggerated expression of emotion. Its intensity comes from “per-,” a prefix meaning “thoroughly.”
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Used in a sentence: “Supporters of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tend toward perfervid idealism when discussing the potential for change she brings to politics-as-usual in the DC swamp.”
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Watch the dance video, here.
OK, I am officially on board, AOC fans.
Just one question, though…
“Sandy?”