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Propitious

Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2013 10:33 pm
by Dr. Goodword

• propitious •

Pronunciation: prê-pi-shês • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Adjective

Meaning: 1. Offering favorable circumstances, rife with opportunities. 2. Fortunate, lucky, especially appropriate.

Notes: Although similar in meaning to auspicious, auspicious means "presaging a successful outcome", while propitious describes on-going favorable circumstances. Propitiousness is the noun for today's word. The verb propitiate "to make (more) favorable, win the favor of" has its own family: propitiation, propitiative, propitiatory, and so on.

In Play: A propitious occasion is one that presents opportunities we should not overlook: "The day after Maureen receives her promotion might be a propitious moment for us to ask her for a raise." Anything that improves your odds for success (or survival) may be called propitious: "Now might be a propitious moment for a long bike ride: before dad gets home and finds out we burned out one of his stereo speakers."

Word History: Today's Good Word was snitched from Latin propitius "well-disposed, favorably inclined", the mood of the gods on propitious occasions. The Latin word is composed of the prefix pro- "to, forward, toward" + petere "to travel to, to seek". The root of this word, pet-, is the Proto-Indo-European root pet- "flow, fly" with little change. The PIE root is the basis of English feather, very useful in flying. It is also responsible for the flowing Greek word potamos "river", prominent in the word hippopotamus, literally, "river horse". Without its vowel, this root also appears in the word pterodactyl "wing-fingered (flying reptile)", from the Greek words pteron "wing" + dactylos "finger".

Re: Propitious

Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2013 11:42 am
by MTC
propitious and propitiate

auspicious and _______?

aus·pi·cate (ôsp-kt)
tr.v. aus·pi·cat·ed, aus·pi·cat·ing, aus·pi·cates
To begin or inaugurate with a ceremony intended to bring good luck.
[Latin auspicr, auspict-, from auspex, auspic-, bird augur; see auspice.]

Re: Propitious

Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2013 12:16 pm
by Perry Lassiter
I believe it was Robert Hutchins who introduced the "teachable moment," that propitious time when things come together and make it easy to learn. One of my profs gave us this quote of his own: teaching is presenting material in a way that is easy to remember? No, teaching is making something happen you can't forget!

Re: Propitious

Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2013 6:15 pm
by Philip Hudson
In many versions of the Bible, Jesus is said to be the propitiation for our sins.