beholden

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 8, 2020 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>beholden</strong> &#149; \bih-HOHL-dun\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p><strong>:</strong> being under obligation for a favor or gift <strong>:</strong> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/indebted">indebted</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"When the Second Continental Congress ratified the final text of this Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, it was launching into uncharted territory. They were creating a vision for a country that did not yet exist. As Ronald Reagan would later say, 'This idea that government is <em>beholden</em> to the people, that it has no other source of power except the sovereign people, is still the newest and the most unique idea in all the long history of man's relation to man.'" — <a href="https://exbulletin.com/world/international/184155/">Brad Wenstrup, <em>The Cincinnati (Ohio) Enquirer</em>, 4 July 2020</a></p> <p>"Group sizes will remain <em>beholden</em> to the gatherings limits put in place by the governor's state of emergency order for managing the state's economy and government amid the COVID-19 pandemic." — <a href="https://www.samessenger.com/news/ed-agency-reveals-school-reopening-guidelines/article_d6831852-b585-11ea-9be0-e72bfc9ed9ab.html">Michael Frett, <em>The St. Albans (Vermont) Messenger</em>, 23 June 2020</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>Have you ever found yourself under obligation to someone else for a gift or favor? It's a common experience and, not surprisingly, many of the words describing this condition have been part of the English language for centuries. <em>Beholden</em> is recorded in the Middle-English <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Arthurian">Arthurian</a> poem <em>Sir Gawain and the Green Knight</em>. <em><a href="https://www.merri