Word of the Day

: July 8, 2010

congeries

noun KAHN-juh-reez

What It Means

: aggregation, collection

congeries in Context

As we walked past the food stalls our nostrils were assailed by a congeries of exotic, unfamiliar smells.

Did You Know?

What do "epitome," "circus," "tribunal," and "congeries" have in common? All are part of a relatively small collection of English nouns that made the transition from Latin to English unaltered in both spelling and meaning. "Congeries" joined this group in our language in the early 1600s. Latin "congeries" comes from the Latin verb "congerere," which means "to carry or bring together" and which is also the source of our word "congest." In English, "congeries" stands out because it is a singular word with a plural appearance -- and its plural is also spelled "congeries."