juxtapose

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 21, 2022 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>juxtapose</strong> &#149; \JUK-stuh-pohz\&nbsp; &#149; <em>verb</em><br /> <p><em>Juxtapose</em> means "to place (different things) side by side (as to compare them or contrast them or to create an interesting effect)."</p> <p>// The committee <em>juxtaposed</em> the proposals for the new student center, trying to determine which would better meet the needs of the university.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/juxtapose">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"There's the original wooden floorboards <em>juxtaposing</em> ... a glossy, stop-and-stare, curved timber wall that extends from behind the counter to the ceiling above." — Anooska Tucker-Evans, <em>The Courier Mail</em> (Australia), 19 Mar. 2022</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>A <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/back-formation">back-formation</a> is a word that has come about through the removal of a prefix or a suffix from a longer word. Etymologists believe <em>juxtapose</em> is a back-formation that was created when people trimmed down the noun <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/juxtaposition">juxtaposition</a></em>. Historical evidence supports the idea: <em>juxtaposition</em> shows up in the 17th century and <em>juxtapose</em> in the 19th.  <em>Juxtaposition</em> is a combination of Latin <em>juxta</em>, meaning "near," and English "position."</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>