28 mar 2005

The Word of the Day for Mar 27 is:
Byzantine \BIZ-un-teen\ adjective

1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of the ancient city of Byzantium or
the Eastern Roman Empire
2 : of or relating to the Eastern Orthodox Church
*3 often not capitalized : intricately involved and often devious

Example sentence:
Rosa's novels vividly depict a Byzantine world of scheming and intrigue.

Did you know?
Today, the city that lies on the Bosporus Strait in Turkey is named
Istanbul, but it was once known as Constantinople (a name given to it when
it became capital of the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire), and in
ancient times, it was called Byzantium. Its history is exotic - filled with
mystics, wars, and political infighting - and the word Byzantine (from Late
Latin "Byzantinus," for "native of Byzantium") became synonymous with
anything characteristic of the city or empire, from architecture to
intrigue. The figurative sense of labyrinthine deviousness first appeared in
the late 1930s. It was popularized by its frequent use in reference to the
Soviet Union, whose secrecy and despotism were equated by Westerners with
what went on in the old Byzantine Empire.