Etymology Word of the Week – As some of you know, in addition to working in the Admissions Office, I also teach Latin at Saint Ignatius and am something of a "word nerd." Thus, each week, I’ll sneak a vocabulary word (sometimes derived from Latin, sometimes not) into the e-blast. Here, then, is this week’s edition of the Etymology Word of the Week.
Inaugurate - “to induct into office with formal ceremonies; install; initiate, begin.” From the Latin noun inauguratio meaning “consecration; installment under good omens,” which combines the Latin preposition in meaning “in, on, into, onto” and the Latin verb augurare meaning “to predict, to act as an augur.” (all information is from www.wikipedia.org, www.etymonline.com and/or www.dictionary.com).
RELATED WORDS/PHRASES – august, augment, author, auxiliary (but NOT auger - “an instrument used for boring large holes”)
SAMPLE SENTENCE - “The Inauguration of the President of the United States is a very public display to the rest of the world that Americans believe in the peaceful transition of power.”