www.alphadictionary.com

• versatile •

Pronunciation: vêr-sê-têl • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Adjective

Meaning: Able to perform several unrelated tasks: capable of several functions (versatile machine) or having multiple talents (versatile athlete).

Notes: Today's Good Word comes with a healthy family of derivations. The adverb is versatilely and the noun, versatility [vêr-sê-til-ê-tee]. A versatile person is a jack-of-all-trades, but tools may be versatile, too; the Swiss Army knife is a good example of a versatile tool.

In Play: Versatility is a capacity to do a wide variety of different things: "Mildred must be versatile in her job since she has to do everyone else's job when they are out of the office." It can also reflect a wide-ranging repertory of different ways of doing the same thing: "Shadburn is very versatile when it comes to wriggling out of chores around the house: he has an excuse for every occasion."

Word History: This word is an English modification of Latin versatilis "versatile", an adjective based on versatus "turned", the past participle of versare "to turn". The original Proto-Indo-European root from which versare is derived produced many other words, not only those ending on -vert borrowed from Latin, like revert, convert, and invert, but a series of interesting words that originated in English. Wrist, wrath (from "twisted, tortured"), and wrestle are among them. Old English had a word, wyrd that meant "fate, destiny" from this root. Today it is an adjective, weird, by association with the twists and turns of fate that can bend even the most versatile of us out of shape.

Wrath - Wroth - Writhe.

Adds a new dimension to "The Wrath of Khan," doesn't it?

Was that the wrath of the Aga Khan or the Ali Khan?

Was that the wrath of the Aga Khan or the Ali Khan?

Nope. It was the wrath of Khan Noonien Singh.

Slava: Yah, I know. I was trying to inject a little humor.

I figured that, but felt like putting in the link anyway. I'm surprised you didn't ask about Chaka, too, though.

How could I forget? Chaka's music is not exactly my style but she is some good-looking woman and is second only to Rita Hayworth as my favorite Kahn. I suppose Rita didn't actually become a Kahn when she married Prince Aly Khan. I remember her marriage with bitterness. I wanted Rita to wait until I grew up before deciding on her next husband.

As every healthy red-blooded boy would.

Has anyone else out there heard this word pronounced "versaTILE"?

It's heard here on the Plains. Many words are of various
pronunciations. I guess we are just very versatile.

If one has an advanced degree in the South or Midwest, the word is VER-suh-tl. If not it is ver-suh-TIEL. Note: I write uh for a schwa because I am too lazy to go get one.

Note: I write uh for a schwa because I am too lazy to go get one.

Here's one for you: ə. Just copy and paste as needed.

Slava: What part of the word lazy do you not understand? To find it, cut it and paste it takes work. I keep a big file of symbols that will print for most word processors and on most pages such as this, but cannot be produced by a simple keystroke. ə was one of the first symbols I put in the list. Still, when ennui sets in ……..

Ennui: too true.

What I need is a site that lists all those things and I can
go and find what I need. Then I can, without the ennui,
cut and paste and use.

Does anyone have a site like this?

It needs the funny Spanish n with the thingie on top of
it; the German umlaut ; the French cedilla; etc. etc. etc.

If y'all remember, way back before the board version change, we had an accented characters section right here on the Agora. 'Tis a shame we lost it.