distend

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 4, 2020 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>distend</strong> &#149; \dih-STEND\&nbsp; &#149; <em>verb</em><br /> <p><strong>1 :</strong> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extend">extend</a></p> <p><strong>2 :</strong> to enlarge, expand, or stretch out (as from internal pressure) <strong>:</strong> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swell">swell</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"At the Aurora … the finest performers in Josh Costello’s cast … add still further pleasure to the avalanche of wit. They make it sing—and croak and hiss and squeal, thunder and bark and gurgle. They <em>distend</em> syllables. They ride the waves of <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diphthong">diphthongs</a>. They scale octaves in a breath and then find a comedic thump of a note to land on. It’s pitch as punch line." — <a href="https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/theater/review-symphony-of-guttural-sounds-make-earnest-sparkle-at-aurora">Lily Janiak, <em>The San Francisco Chronicle</em>, 23 Apr. 2019</a></p> <p>"Stomach bloating is when the tummy becomes <em>distended</em>, causing it to feel uncomfortable. It often occurs after eating a big meal. But for some, bloating is more than an occasional inconvenience." — <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1114996/stomach-bloating-bloated-belly-diet-foods-kefir-kimchi-kombucha-sauerkraut-live-yoghurt">Katrina Turrill, <em>The Sunday Express</em> (UK), 21 Apr. 2019</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>The history of the word <em>distend</em> stretches back to the Latin verb <em>tendere</em>—a root whose kin have really expanded the English language. To find evidence of this expansion, look to words that include "tend" or "tent"; many have <em>tendere</em>, which means "to stretch, extend, or spread," in thei