Predator

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Dr. Goodword
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Predator

Postby Dr. Goodword » Fri Apr 21, 2017 11:39 pm

• predator •

Pronunciation: pred-ê-têr • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: 1. Any organism that lives by preying on and consuming other organisms. 2. A victimizer, someone who takes advantage of others using his or her position, special knowledge, or stature.

Notes: No, today's word does not refer to something that existed prior to (predates) something else, but rather a creature that preys on others. Natural predators include flesh-eating animals like lions, hawks, and sharks. Unnatural ones include the predatory (the adjective) adults who try to seduce young people on the Web, a growing problem as the Web expands.

In Play: Until recently, when we thought of predators, we thought of animals that live off the lives of other animals: "We felt quite safe camping in the woods at night; since we hadn't bathed in over a week, the predators left us alone." However, the anonymity of the Web has led to the spread of predatory behavior in adults who try to seduce our children on line: "My recently departed neighbor apparently was an Internet predator who entered the home of his intended victim to discover that her dad had trained a 500-pound gorilla to take care of her in his absence."

Word History: Today's Good Word is the English adaptation of Latin praedatorius "plundering" from the verb praedari "to plunder". This verb is based on praeda "booty, loot" from an earlier form prae "before" + hedari "grab, grasp". Praeda devolved into Old French preie, which English borrowed as prey. Hedari derives from a Proto-Indo-European root, ghe[n]d- "grab, get" with a Fleeting N, an N that comes and goes without rhyme or reason. So this is the same root we see with the N in prehendere "grab, grasp", a word that underlies English prehensile and apprehend among others. The n-less version, ghed-, came to English via Old Norse as get.
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Slava
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Re: Predator

Postby Slava » Mon Oct 02, 2017 9:49 am

I guess a predater could be an ex-boyfriend/girlfriend? :roll:
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George Kovac
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Re: Predator

Postby George Kovac » Mon Oct 02, 2017 11:23 am

No, that would be a postdater predator. :wink:
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Slava
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Re: Predator

Postby Slava » Tue Oct 03, 2017 2:01 pm

That's the theme of one of Tarkovsky's films, isn't it? Stalker?
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.


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