Word of the Day

: August 15, 2023

nexus

noun NEK-sus

What It Means

A nexus is a relationship or connection between people or things.

// Her final research paper for her pedagogy class highlighted the nexus between teachers and students.

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nexus in Context

“Darren Tucker, a field supervisor with Arizona Game and Fish, said that the last known fatal bear attack in Arizona happened in 2011 in the Pinetop area, further adding to the ‘extremely uncommon’ nature of the attack, stating that it seemed ‘predatory in nature.’ ‘We didn't see any obvious attractants. The location and the surrounding residencies looked pretty tidy,’ Tucker told reporters. ‘However, typically, nine times out of ten when we have wildlife-human conflict there is some nexus to food.’” — Kye Graves, USA Today, 16 June 2023

Did You Know?

If you’re unfamiliar with the word nexus, the popular, long-running video game series The Legend of Zelda may provide an object lesson in its several definitions (and if you’re unfamiliar with the games, we will explain). When nexus came into English in the 17th century, it meant “connection” or “link.” Eventually, people began using it to refer to a connected group or series of things, as in “a nexus of relationships.” In recent decades it has taken on a third meaning: “center” or “hub,” perhaps from the notion that a point in the center of an arrangement serves to join together the objects that surround it. Now, one might plausibly say that the 20 Zelda games (not counting remakes and spin-offs) themselves form a nexus, as each represents an installment in a long, twisty saga with numerous echoes and callbacks to other games in the series. Most of these feature the fictional land of Hyrule, which often presents magical nexuses to shadowy alternate dimensions (1991’s A Link to the Past), the past (2011’s Skyward Sword), or the underworld (2023’s Tears of the Kingdom) that the hero, Link (ahem) must traverse. As for nexus’s third meaning, Hyrule’s map is nearly always situated around a central nexus, or hub, in the form of the castle where the titular Zelda lives. (If you’re into gaming or curious about its lingo, don’t miss the article “Popular Gaming Terms Explained”).