October 25, 2011
- remnant (noun)
- What does it mean?
- 1 : a surviving usually small part2 : something that remains or is left over
- How do you use it?
- Gwen and Alex spent the rainy afternoon making collages from the remnants of old sewing projects.
- Are you a word wiz?
"Remnant" comes from the Latin word "manere," meaning "to remain." Which of the following do you think also comes from "manere"?Something that is permanent lasts for a long time—that is, it remains, just like a remnant does. "Manere" is the source of both words, and is also the source of our word "remain." The connection between "manere" and this trio is pretty clear but there's another "manere" word with a connection that is not so clear—yet. "Mansion," a word meaning "a large and impressive house" also comes from "manere." It turns out that in addition to meaning "to remain," "manere" also means "to dwell" or "to live in a place."