expropriate

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 23, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>expropriate</strong> &#149; \ek-SPROH-pree-ayt\&nbsp; &#149; <em>verb</em><br /> <p><strong>1 :</strong> to deprive of possession or proprietary rights</p> <p><strong>2 :</strong> to transfer (the property of another) to one's own possession</p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>The city council rejected a proposal to <em>expropriate</em> private property for the highway expansion.</p> <p>"Newspapers, in particular, have had their content unfairly <em>expropriated</em> by the lords of the internet, even as the advertising that once sustained the news business has been snatched away by the same online behemoths." — David Horsey, <em>The Seattle Times</em>,18 Mar. 2021</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>If you guessed that <em>expropriate</em> has something in common with the verb <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/appropriate#h2">appropriate</a></em>, you're right. Both words ultimately derive from the Latin adjective <em>proprius</em>, meaning "own." <em>Expropriate</em> came to English by way of the Medieval Latin verb <em>expropriare</em>, itself from Latin <em>ex</em>- ("out of" or "from") and <em>proprius</em>. <em>Appropriate</em> descends from Late Latin <em>appropriare</em>, which joins <em>proprius</em> and Latin <em>ad</em>- ("to" or "toward"). Both the verb <em>appropriate</em> ("to take possession of" or "to set aside for a particular use") and the adjective <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/appropriate#h1">appropriate</a></em> ("fitting" or "suitable") have been with us since the 15th century, and <em>expropriate</em> was officially appropriated in the 17th century. Other <em>proprius</em> descendants in English include <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proper">proper</a></em> and <em