October 2007

Happy Birthday: 1990

After decades of division following WWII, the two countries once known as East Germany and West Germany were formally joined together on October 3, 1990. Combining two items in order to produce a third isn't limited to the business of creating countries; of the 24 terms dating their birth year to 1990, five words are the result of a similar process.

Interested in words from a particular year? It's easy to categorize them. Select the Collegiate as your reference, click on Advanced Search, type the year into the Date field, and click on Search.

applet (application +et) : a short computer application especially for performing a simple specific task

bungee jump : to jump from a height while attached to an elasticized cord

nutraceutical (nutritional + pharmaceutical) : a foodstuff (as a fortified food or dietary supplement) that provides health benefits in addition to its basic nutritional value

p53 (from p53, the protein made by the gene, from protein + 53, the gene's molecular weight) : a tumor suppressor gene that in an inactivated form tends to be associated with a high risk of certain cancers

velociraptor : any of a genus (Velociraptor) of theropod dinosaurs of the Late Cretaceous having a long head with a flat snout and a large sickle-shaped claw on the second toe of each foot


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