yaw

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 12, 2020 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>yaw</strong> &#149; \YAW\&nbsp; &#149; <em>verb</em><br /> <p><strong>1 a</strong> <em>of a ship</em> <strong>:</strong> to deviate erratically from a course (as when struck by a heavy sea); <em>especially</em> <strong>:</strong> to move from side to side</p> <p><strong>b</strong> <em>of an airplane, spacecraft, or projectile</em> <strong>:</strong> to turn by angular motion about the vertical axis</p> <p><strong>2 :</strong> to change from one to another repeatedly <strong>:</strong> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alternate#h2">alternate</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"A crane had been brought in to lift the <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/submersible#h2">submersible</a> from the truck onto the raft.… Even with its heavy load the raft pitched and <em>yawed</em> as it was towed along." — <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=iTIDZBKnELIC&amp;pg=PA339#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false">Clive Cussler and Paul Kemprecos, <em>Blue Gold</em>, 2000</a></p> <p>"All told, even as the U.S. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gross%20domestic%20product">GDP</a> has grown, our air and water have become cleaner. And while policies <em>yawed</em> between Democratic and Republican administrations, the long-term trend has been toward stronger and better controls that have not, despite the dire warnings from the pro-business sector, crippled the economy." — <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-04-22/earth-day-50th-anniversary-oil-spill">editorial, <em>The Los Angeles Times</em>, 22 Apr. 2020</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>In the heyday of large sailing ships, numerous nautical words appeared on the horizon. <em>Yaw</em> is one such word. Its origin isn't exactly known, but it began tu