cadre

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 26, 2023 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>cadre</strong> &#149; \KAD-ray\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p>Broadly, <em>cadre</em> can refer to any group of people with a unifying relationship, as in “a cadre of lawyers,” or “a cadre of sportswriters.” More specifically, <em>cadre</em> can also be used for a group of people who are trained in a role or task, and who in turn can train others. </p> <p>// A small but influential <em>cadre</em> of students ultimately persuaded their peers and then the administration to change the school’s mascot.</p> <p>// The company was able to stay afloat through the downturn thanks largely to a highly-skilled <em>cadre</em> of workers and technicians with deep institutional memory.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cadre">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>“Though Sage has recently begun to embrace a more acoustic sound—whether as a member of the Fuubutsushi jazz quartet or collaborating with a <em>cadre</em> of flutists, slide guitarists, and harmonium players on 2021’s <em>The Wind of Things</em>—here he honors the spirit of the outdoors using the most computerized sounds imaginable.” — Sam Goldner, <em>Pitchfork</em>, 31 May 2023</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>A wise man named Huey Lewis once sang that “it’s hip to be square.” As lexicographers—a hip cadre if ever there was one—we heartily agree with this sentiment, not least because the song (as performed by Lewis and his trusted cadre of bandmates dubbed “the News”) prompts us to ponder an etymological descendent (via French and Italian) of the Latin word for square, <em>quadrum</em>: <em>cadre</em>. Squares being a logical and standard shape for frames (as of window and picture varieties), it’s easy to understand why French speakers and later English spe