frisson

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 12, 2020 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>frisson</strong> &#149; \free-SAWN\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p><strong>:</strong> a brief moment of emotional excitement <strong>:</strong> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shudder#h2">shudder</a>, <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thrill#h2">thrill</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"There's that <em>frisson</em> of excitement when we get the text or the ring notifying us when dinner has arrived at our doorstep." — Tom Sietsema, <em>The Washington Post</em>, 10 Apr. 2020</p> <p>"Will the Oscars be forced to make peace with Netflix and its ilk? Is moviegoing fated to become a quaint, niche pursuit, or one that involves a grave risk? I don't think I'm the only cinephile experiencing a <em>frisson</em> of dread." — <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/12/movies/cannes-critics.html">A. O. Scott, <em>The New York Times</em>, 22 May 2020</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>"I feel a shiver that's not from the cold as the band and the crowd go charging through the final notes.... That frisson, that exultant moment...." That's how writer Robert W. Stock characterized the culmination of a big piece at a concert in 1982. His use of the word <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shiver#h4">shiver</a></em> is apt given that <em>frisson</em> comes from the French word for "shiver." <em>Frisson</em> traces to Old French <em>friçon</em>, which in turn derives from <em>frictio</em>, Latin for "<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/friction">friction</a>." What does friction—normally a heat generator—have to do with thrills and chills? Nothing, actually. The association came about because <em>frictio</em> (which derives from Latin <em>fricare</em>, meaning "to rub") was once mistakenly