Word of the Day

: April 25, 2016

juxtapose

verb JUK-stuh-pohz

What It Means

: to place side by side (as to compare or contrast)

juxtapose in Context

Darlene has a keen eye for fashion, and she likes to juxtapose vintage pieces with contemporary styles to create new looks.

"ESPN posted an image of poverty outside Havana's sports stadium last week, to juxtapose the well-kept stadium with the shabby neighborhood around it." — Carolina Miranda, The Los Angeles Times (latimes.com), 28 Mar. 2016

Did You Know?

A back-formation is a word that has come about through the removal of a prefix or a suffix from a longer word. Etymologists think juxtapose is a back-formation that was created when people trimmed down the noun juxtaposition. Historical evidence supports the idea: juxtaposition was showing up in English documents as early as 1654, but juxtapose didn't appear until 1851. Juxtaposition is itself thought to be a combination of Latin juxta, meaning "near," and English position.