Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Wednesday's Words

I was reading the NY Times book review section recently and in a review for The Sabbath World the word UKASE was used. I went to my trusty online dictionary http://www.m-w.com/
to find out its meaning.
Pronunciation: \yü-ˈkās, -ˈkāz, ˈyü-ˌ; ü-ˈkäz\
Function: noun
Etymology: French & Russian; French, from Russian ukaz, from ukazat' to show, order; akin to Old Church Slavic u- away, Latin au-, Sanskrit ava- and to Old Church Slavic kazati to show
Date: 1729
1 : a proclamation by a Russian emperor or government having the force of law
2 : edict

While googling I came across its use in this sentence.
An ukase of Peter the Great forbade the wearing of traditional Russian-style garb, so from the end of the 17th century, clothing was sewn in the European style, most frequently, according to French fashions, since at the time, France reigned supreme in the world of haute couture.





Now to find a way to build it into a sentence this week...perhaps I'll put it in the requirements for a change request this week. That will really confuse our offshore developers!

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