facilitate

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 19, 2012 is: facilitate • \fuh-SIL-uh-tayt\  • verb : to make easier : help bring about Examples: The entrance to Tanya's apartment building comes with a ramp and an automatic door to facilitate getting her wheelchair in and out. "Next week I'll share more of the authors' insights into the brain and how to use this information to facilitate healthier mental states and less stress." - From an article by Jacquelyn Ferguson in The News-Press (Fort Myers, Florida), May 15, 2012 Did you know? As with so many English words, it's easy to find a Latin origin for "facilitate." It traces back to the Latin adjective "facilis," meaning "easy." Other descendants of "facilis" in English include "facile" ("easy to do"), "facility" ("the quality of being easily performed"), "faculty" ("ability"), and "difficult" (from "dis-" plus "facilis," which equals "not easy"). "Facilis" in turn comes from "facere," a Latin verb meaning "to make or do." "Facere" has played a role in the development of dozens of English words, ranging from "affect" to "surfeit." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.