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bespoke
Episode 4106

bespoke

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day · Merriam-Webster

January 20, 20181m 31s

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Show Notes

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 20, 2018 is:


bespoke \bih-SPOHK\ adjective

1 : custom-made

2 : dealing in or producing custom-made articles


Examples:

"Matt, a lifelong collector of vintage and bespoke men's suiting, takes dressing for an occasion very seriously: black tie the first evening; blue jackets the second." — Pilar Guzman, Traveler, December 2017

"Customers stepped up for body scans inside the showroom and then worked with an employee to design their own bespoke pullovers." — Anna Wiener, Wired, December 2017


Did you know?

In the English language of yore, the verb bespeak had various meanings, including "to speak," "to accuse," and "to complain." In the 16th century, bespeak acquired another meaning—"to order or arrange in advance." It is from that sense that we get the adjective bespoke, referring to clothes and other things that are ordered before they are made. You are most likely to encounter this adjective in British contexts, such as the 2008 Reuters news story about a young pig in Northern England who was fitted with "bespoke miniature footwear" (custom-made Wellington boots) to help it overcome a phobia of mud.

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Topics

WEBSTERWORD A DAYWORDSMERRIAM-WEBSTERDICTIONARYLANGUAGEENGLISHWORD OF THE DAYMERRIAMWORDVOCABULARY